System, method and associated apparatus for autonomous vehicle transportation

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a system, method and associated apparatus for autonomous vehicle transportation. The system includes: an operation system configured to generate a transportation plan for a vehicle and transmit the transportation plan to a vehicle controller of the vehicle; and the vehicle controller configured to control, in accordance with the transportation plan, the vehicle to autonomously move to a position of a checkpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, and interact with a checkpoint controller corresponding to the position of the checkpoint for autonomously passing the checkpoint; and control the vehicle to autonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to a specified loading/unloading position in the target highway port, and interact with a loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomous loading/unloading at the loading/unloading position. The system, method and associated apparatus can achieve fully autonomous goods transportation, save transportation costs and reduce driving security risks.

This application is a patent application under 35 U.S.C. § 120 and is acontinuation of and claims priority to International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/CN2017/102034, filed on Sep. 18, 2017, which further claims thebenefit of priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201710600173.0,titled “SYSTEM, METHOD AND ASSOCIATED APPARATUS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLETRANSPORTATION”, filed on Jul. 21, 2017, the content of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to autonomous driving technology, andmore particularly, to a system for autonomous vehicle transportation, amethod for autonomous vehicle transportation, a vehicle controller andan operation system.

BACKGROUND

Currently, in order to improve the efficiency of goods transportation,highway ports are provided along highways, and coastal ports areprovided along coasts, such that the goods can be dispatched and storedat the highway ports/coastal ports. At present, the main scheme forgoods transportation is that truck drivers drive trucks fortransportation between highway ports, between highway ports and otherlocations (such as warehouses, goods distribution centers, logisticstransportation companies, factories, and the like), between coastalports, or between coastal ports and other locations. However, thisscheme for goods transportation requires not only a large number oftruck drivers, but also a large number of management personnel,loading/unloading workers at the highway ports/coastal ports, resultingin high costs as well as security risks due to fatigue of truck driversas they are very likely to drive long distances for a long time.

SUMMARY

In view of the above problem, the present disclosure provides a system,method and associated apparatus for autonomous vehicle transportation,capable of achieving fully autonomous goods transportation, savingtransportation costs and reducing driving security risks.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system forautonomous vehicle transportation is provided. The system includes anoperation system and a vehicle controller of a vehicle. The operationsystem is configured to generate a transportation plan for the vehicleand transmit the transportation plan to the vehicle controller of thevehicle. The vehicle controller is configured to control, in accordancewith the transportation plan, the vehicle to autonomously move to aposition of a checkpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, andinteract with a checkpoint controller corresponding to the position ofthe checkpoint for autonomously passing the checkpoint; and control thevehicle to autonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to aspecified loading/unloading position in the target highway port, andinteract with a loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a vehiclecontroller is provided. The vehicle controller includes: a communicationunit configured to transmit and receive information; and a control unitconfigured to control, in accordance with a transportation plan receivedby the communication unit, a vehicle to autonomously move to a positionof a checkpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, and interactwith a checkpoint controller corresponding to the position of thecheckpoint for autonomously passing the checkpoint; and control thevehicle to autonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to aspecified loading/unloading position in the target highway port, andinteract with a loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an operationsystem is provided. The operation system includes: a vehicle schedulingunit configured to generate a transportation plan for a vehicle,transmit the transportation plan to a vehicle controller of the vehicle,and adjust the transportation plan for the vehicle based on atransportation plan execution progress for the vehicle; and a controlunit configured to obtain the transportation plan execution progress forthe vehicle executing the transportation plan and transmit thetransportation plan execution progress to the vehicle scheduling unit.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method forautonomous vehicle transportation is provided. The method includes:generating, by an operation system, a transportation plan for a vehicleand transmitting the transportation plan to a vehicle controller of thevehicle; and controlling, by the vehicle controller in accordance withthe transportation plan, the vehicle to autonomously move to a positionof a checkpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, and interactingwith a checkpoint controller corresponding to the position of thecheckpoint for autonomously passing the checkpoint; and controlling thevehicle to autonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to aspecified loading/unloading position in the target highway port, andinteract with a loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position.

With the system and method for autonomous vehicle transportation, in oneaspect, the operation system can manage and schedule vehicles, generatetransportation plans for the respective vehicles, and synchronize thetransportation plans to vehicle controllers of the respective vehicles,such that no management personnel are needed for managing and schedulingthe vehicles. In another aspect, the vehicle controller controls thevehicle to execute the transportation plan so as to achieve autonomoustransportation of goods, without the need for truck drivers. In yetanother aspect, with the vehicle controller controlling movement of thevehicle, problems such as driving while tired, drunk or drugged can beavoided, thereby improving the driving security. Therefore, thesolutions according to the present disclosure can not only save costs ofgoods transportation, but also reduce security risks in drivingvehicles.

The other features and advantages of the present disclosure will beexplained in the following description, and will become apparent partlyfrom the description or be understood by implementing the presentdisclosure. The objects and other advantages of the present disclosurecan be achieved and obtained from the structures specificallyillustrated in the written description, claims and figures.

In the following, the solutions according to the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to the figures and embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures are provided for facilitating further understanding of thepresent disclosure. The figures constitute a portion of the descriptionand can be used in combination with the embodiments of the presentdisclosure to interpret, rather than limiting, the present disclosure.It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the figures describedbelow only illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure andother figures can be obtained from these figures without applying anyinventive skills. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a first schematic diagram showing a structure of a system forautonomous vehicle transportation according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a first schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a second schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a third schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a first schematic diagram showing a checkpoint positionconfigured as a rotatable base according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5B is a second schematic diagram showing a checkpoint positionconfigured as a rotatable base according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a fourth schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a fifth schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a first schematic diagram showing a structure of a compartmentdoor of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a second schematic diagram showing a structure of acompartment door of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a third schematic diagram showing a structure of acompartment door of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 11 is a fourth schematic diagram showing a structure of acompartment door of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a sixth schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a seventh schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is an eighth schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a ninth schematic diagram showing a structure of a highwayport according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a second schematic diagram showing a structure of a systemfor autonomous vehicle transportation according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a third schematic diagram showing a structure of a system forautonomous vehicle transportation according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a vehiclecontroller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of an operationsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a first flowchart illustrating a method for autonomousvehicle transportation according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 21 is a second flowchart illustrating a method for autonomousvehicle transportation according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 22 is a third flowchart illustrating a method for autonomousvehicle transportation according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 23 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a method for autonomousvehicle transportation according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In the following, the solutions according to the embodiments of thepresent disclosure will be described clearly and completely withreference to the figures, such that the solutions can be betterunderstood by those skilled in the art. Obviously, the embodimentsdescribed below are only some, rather than all, of the embodiments ofthe present disclosure. All other embodiments that can be obtained bythose skilled in the art based on the embodiments described in thepresent disclosure without any inventive efforts are to be encompassedby the scope of the present disclosure.

The core idea of the present disclosure has been described above. Thesolutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in further detail below with reference to the figures, suchthat they can be better understood by those skilled in the art and thatthe above objects, features and advantages of the embodiments of thepresent disclosure will become more apparent.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a vehicle controller may bea Digital Signal Processing (DSP), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)controller, an industrial computer, a vehicle computer, an ElectronicControl Unit (ECU), Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), or the like. The presentdisclosure is not limited to any of these examples.

The method and system for autonomous vehicle transportation according tothe present disclosure are applicable to goods transportation in allclosed areas, such as highway ports, coastal ports, goods distributioncenters, warehouses, factories, logistics campuses, and the like. Inorder to facilitate the understanding by those skilled in the art, theembodiments of the present disclosure will be described with referenceto examples in which a closed area is a highway port. The principles forautonomous transportation also apply to other closed areas and detailsthereof will be omitted here.

Embodiment 1

Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a system for autonomous vehicletransportation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, thesystem includes an operation system 11 and a vehicle controller 12 ofeach of a plurality of vehicles.

The operation system 11 is configured to generate a transportation planfor the vehicle and transmit the transportation plan to the vehiclecontroller 12 of the vehicle.

The vehicle controller 12 is configured to control, in accordance withthe transportation plan, the vehicle to autonomously move to a positionof a checkpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, and interactwith a checkpoint controller 13 corresponding to the position of thecheckpoint for autonomously passing the checkpoint; and control thevehicle to autonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to aspecified loading/unloading position in the target highway port, andinteract with a loading/unloading control apparatus 14 for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position.

In Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure, one operation system 11 canschedule and manage a plurality of vehicles for goods transportationbetween highway ports, or between highway ports and other locations(such as warehouses, docks, coastal ports, goods distribution centers,logistics campuses, railway stations, airports, and the like), and thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto.

In an example, as shown in FIG. 2, the highway port has an entrance, anexit and a plurality of warehouses (the warehouses are numberedaccordingly). A checkpoint is provided at the entrance, and a vehicleenters the highway port after autonomously passing the checkpoint at acheckpoint position. Each warehouse has a warehouse door, in front ofwhich a corresponding loading/unloading position is provided. Thevehicle, after passing the checkpoint, moves to and stops at aloading/unloading position corresponding to a target warehouse, so as toload predetermined goods from the target warehouse, or unload goodscarried on the vehicle to the target warehouse.

In an example, as shown in FIG. 3, the highway port has an entrance, anexit and a plurality of loading/unloading positions (theloading/unloading positions are numbered accordingly, with goods piledaround the loading/unloading positions, the goods being carried incontainers or scattered). The vehicle is controlled to autonomously movefrom the checkpoint position to a specified loading/unloading positionin a target highway port, so as to load/unload goods at theloading/unloading position.

Preferably, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the checkpointof the highway port can be an autonomous checkpoint which is controlledto open or close by a corresponding checkpoint controller 13, so as togive or not to give the vehicle a clearance. The checkpoint can be aroad block, an electrical retractable door, an electrical sliding door,or the like, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12can interact with the checkpoint controller 13 corresponding to theposition of the checkpoint for autonomously passing the checkpoint asfollows. The checkpoint controller 13 can obtain vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle, verify the vehicle identificationinformation, and control the checkpoint to give a clearance to thevehicle when the vehicle identification information is successfullyverified. Upon determining that the checkpoint has given the clearance,the vehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to start and pass theposition of the checkpoint.

The vehicle controller 12 determining that the checkpoint has given theclearance may include: the vehicle controller 12 determining that thecheckpoint has given the clearance in response to receiving anallow-to-pass instruction transmitted from the checkpoint controller 13;or the vehicle controller 12 detecting whether the checkpoint has giventhe clearance using a vehicle-mounted sensor, and determining that thecheckpoint has given the clearance in response to detecting suchclearance.

The vehicle controller 12 detecting whether the checkpoint has given theclearance using the vehicle-mounted sensor may include: the vehiclecontroller 12 determining that the checkpoint has given the clearance inresponse to determining from an image or point cloud data transmittedfrom the vehicle-mounted sensor that the checkpoint is in a state ofclearance.

The checkpoint controller 13 can obtain the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle by using any of the following schemes(Schemes A1˜A2), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme A1, the checkpoint controller 13 can actively recognize thevehicle identification information of the vehicle.

In particular, Scheme A1 can be implemented in any of the following twoschemes, as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme A11, the checkpoint controller 13 can control a sensor tocapture an image of the vehicle, and apply an image recognition processto the captured image to obtain the vehicle identification informationof the vehicle.

The sensor can be a camera which can be installed near the position ofthe checkpoint and can have its lens facing the position where thevehicle is stopped. For example, it can be installed on the checkpoint,on the checkpoint controller, or on a fixed object near the position ofthe checkpoint. The angle of the camera lens can be adjustedautonomously.

The checkpoint controller 13 can process the image transmitted from thecamera, and if the vehicle identification information is recognized fromthe image, verify the vehicle identification information. If no vehicleidentification information is recognized from the image, the capturingangle of the camera can be adjusted autonomously and the above actionscan then be repeated, until the vehicle identification information isrecognized.

The checkpoint controller 13 can recognize the vehicle identificationinformation from the image as follows. The checkpoint controller 13 canextract one or more features from the image, compare the extracted oneor more features with predetermined one or more features correspondingto the vehicle identification information, and determine the vehicleidentification information based on the matched one or more features. Inan embodiment of the present disclosure, the above vehicleidentification information can be information uniquely associated withthe vehicle, e.g., a license plate number. When the vehicleidentification information is a license plate number, one or morefeatures corresponding to the vehicle identification information mayinclude a size, a shape (a rectangular frame), a color (blue or black),a text feature (a length of a text string within the rectangular frame),or the like.

In Scheme A12, the checkpoint controller 13 can control a sensor to scana Quick Response (QR) code or a barcode on the vehicle to obtain thevehicle identification information of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the QR code or barcodecontaining the vehicle identification information can be affixed to orprinted on a specific position (e.g., a front windshield or a leftplate) of the vehicle in advance.

The sensor can be a camera which can be installed near the position ofthe checkpoint and can have its lens facing the position where thevehicle is stopped. For example, it can be installed on the checkpoint,on the checkpoint controller, or on a fixed object near the position ofthe checkpoint. The angle of the camera lens can be adjustedautonomously. The checkpoint controller 13 can adjust the capturingangle of the camera, until the QR code or barcode can be successfullyscanned.

In Scheme A2, the checkpoint controller 13 can receive the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle from the vehicle controller12.

In specific examples, the vehicle controller 12 can interact with thecheckpoint controller 13 corresponding to the position of the checkpointfor autonomously passing the checkpoint by using any of the followingschemes (Schemes B1˜B3), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme B1, the vehicle controller 12 and the checkpoint controller 13can exchange information with each other in a bidirectional manner. Thevehicle controller 12 can transmit the vehicle identificationinformation to the checkpoint controller 13 and, in response toreceiving an allow-to-pass instruction transmitted from the checkpointcontroller 13, control the vehicle to start and enter the target highwayport. The checkpoint controller 13 can verify the vehicle identificationinformation, give a clearance to the vehicle when the vehicleidentification information is successfully verified, and transmit theallow-to-pass instruction to the vehicle controller 12.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle identificationinformation can be identity information uniquely corresponding to thevehicle, e.g., a license plate number or a vehicle identification numberof the vehicle.

The vehicle controller 12 and the checkpoint controller 13 cancommunicate with each other via a Local Area Network (LAN) within thehighway port or a base station, or using Bluetooth, WiFi or othercommunication schemes.

In Scheme B2, the vehicle controller 12 can communicate information tothe checkpoint controller 13 in a unidirectional manner. The vehiclecontroller 12 can transmit the vehicle identification information to thecheckpoint controller 13 and, upon determining that the checkpointcontroller 13 has given the clearance, control the vehicle to start andpass the position of the checkpoint. Accordingly, the checkpointcontroller 13 can verify the vehicle identification information, andgive a clearance to the vehicle when the vehicle identificationinformation is successfully verified.

In Scheme B2, the vehicle controller 12 can detect whether thecheckpoint in the front is in the state of clearance based oninformation transmitted from a vehicle-mounted sensor (e.g., a camera, alaser radar, a millimeter wave radar, or the like). If so, the vehiclecontroller 12 determines that the checkpoint controller 13 has given theclearance; or otherwise the vehicle controller 12 determines that thecheckpoint controller 13 has not given the clearance. For example, whenthe checkpoint is a road block, it can determine that the clearance hasbeen given upon detecting that the road block is lifted. When thecheckpoint is an electrical retractable door or sliding door, it candetermine that the clearance has been given upon detecting that theelectrical retractable door or sliding door has moved to one side or twosides and there is no further block behind the door.

In Scheme B3, the vehicle controller 12 and the checkpoint controller 13do not exchange information with each other. The checkpoint controller13 can recognize the vehicle identification information of the vehicle,verify the vehicle identification information, and give a clearance tothe vehicle when the vehicle identification information is successfullyverified. The vehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to start andenter the target highway port upon determining that the checkpointcontroller 13 has given the clearance.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the checkpoint controller 13can verify the vehicle identification information by using any of thefollowing schemes (Schemes C1˜C3), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme C1, the vehicle identification information of each vehiclethat is allowed to pass can be pre-stored in the checkpoint controller13. The checkpoint controller 13 can match the obtained vehicleidentification information with the pre-stored vehicle identificationinformation of each vehicle that is allowed to pass, and determine thatthe vehicle identification information is successfully verified when theobtained vehicle identification information is successfully match withthe pre-stored vehicle identification information.

In Scheme C2, a pass rule can be pre-stored in the checkpoint controller13. The checkpoint controller 13 can determine whether the obtainedvehicle identification information conforms to the pass rule, anddetermine that the vehicle identification information is successfullyverified when the obtained vehicle identification information conformsto the pass rule.

The pass rule may include, but not limited to, the following: a type ofthe vehicle conforming to a predetermined vehicle type, a license platenumber of the vehicle conforming to a particular geographical area orregistered information for the vehicle identification information, orthe like.

For example, the pass rule may include: allowing vehicles of the type“passenger car” to pass, allowing vehicles of the type “truck” to pass,allowing vehicles of the type “motor vehicle” to pass, allowing vehicleshaving local license plate numbers to pass, or allowing vehicles havingregistered license plate numbers to pass, to name a few. More exampleswill be omitted here.

In Scheme C3, the checkpoint controller 13 can transmit the obtainedvehicle identification information to a remote server, which thenverifies the vehicle identification information, and receive anidentification verification result for the vehicle identificationinformation from the server.

In Scheme C3, the server can verify the vehicle identificationinformation by using Scheme C1 or C2, and further details thereof willbe omitted here.

The vehicle controller 12 can determine whether the checkpoint has giventhe clearance by using any of the following schemes (Schemes D1˜D2), asnon-limiting examples.

In Scheme D1, the vehicle controller 12 can determine that thecheckpoint has given the clearance in response to receiving anallow-to-pass instruction transmitted from the checkpoint controller 13.That is, the checkpoint controller 13 can transmit the allow-to-passinstruction the vehicle controller 12 when vehicle identificationinformation is successfully verified.

In Scheme D2, the vehicle controller 12 can detect whether thecheckpoint has given the clearance using a vehicle-mounted sensor, anddetermine that the checkpoint has given the clearance in response todetecting such clearance.

In particular, in an example, in Scheme D2, a correspondence betweentypes of checkpoints and their respective states of clearance can bepre-stored in the vehicle controller 12. The type and state of thecheckpoint can be determined from an image or point cloud datatransmitted from the vehicle-mounted sensor, and the state can bematched with each state of clearance corresponding to the type of thecheckpoint in the correspondence. It can be determined that thecheckpoint has given the clearance when the state is successfullymatched with the state of clearance.

For example, when the type of the checkpoint is road block, its state ofclearance can be the road block being lifted. When the type of thecheckpoint is electrical retractable door, its state of clearance can bea retracted state. When the type of the checkpoint is electrical slidingdoor, its state of clearance can be an open state, to name a few. Moreexamples will be omitted here.

There may be vehicles accidentally entering the highway port inpractice. Preferably, in order to guide such vehicles to leave thehighway port better and faster, as shown in FIG. 4, a guide road forleaving the highway port can be provided at the entrance of the highwayport. The checkpoint controller 13 can guide the vehicle to leave thehighway port via a guide road when the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle is not successfully verified. In an example,the checkpoint controller 13 can be further configured to transmit tothe vehicle controller 12 first instruction information indicating thatthe vehicle is not allowed to pass and instructing the vehicle to leavethe position of the checkpoint via a guide road, when the vehicleidentification information is not successfully verified. Accordingly,the vehicle controller 12 can be further configured to control thevehicle to start and leave the position of the checkpoint in response toreceiving the first instruction information.

In an example, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theposition of the checkpoint can be configured as a rotatable base. Thecheckpoint controller 13 can control the rotatable base to rotateclockwise or counterclockwise to stop at two directions, one forentering the highway port (e.g., facing the checkpoint) and the otherone for leaving the highway port. The direction for leaving the highwayport can face away from the checkpoint, as shown in FIG. 5A, or can facethe direction of the guide road, as shown in FIG. 5B. Thus, thecheckpoint controller 13 can be further configured to transmit to thevehicle controller 12 second instruction information indicating that thevehicle is not allowed to pass, and rotate the rotatable base such thatthe vehicle is heading away from the position of the checkpoint, whenthe vehicle identification information is not successfully verified.Accordingly, the vehicle controller 12 can be further configured tocontrol the vehicle to start and leave the position of the checkpoint inresponse to receiving the second instruction information.

Preferably, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehiclecontroller 12 controlling the vehicle to autonomously move to theposition of the checkpoint at the entrance to the target highway portmay include: the vehicle controller 12 planning a route from a currentposition to the position of the checkpoint and controlling the vehicleto autonomously move along the route; and the vehicle controller 12controlling the vehicle to stop in response to determining from an imageor point cloud data transmitted from a vehicle-mounted sensor that anobstacle in the front is a checkpoint and the distance from the vehicleto the checkpoint is smaller than or equal to a distance threshold. Thedistance threshold can be an empirical value, or can be calculated basedon a moving speed and an inertia of the vehicle, i.e., the distancethreshold can be a distance the vehicle covers from braking to stopping.

The vehicle controller 12 can plan the route from the current positionto the position of the checkpoint by using map software or navigationsoftware on the vehicle side.

In an example, the vehicle controller 12 controlling the vehicle toautonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to the specifiedloading/unloading position in the target highway port may include:planning a first route from the position of the checkpoint to theloading/unloading position and controlling the vehicle to autonomouslymove to the loading/unloading position along the first route.

In an example, the vehicle controller 12 can be further configured to:plan a second route from the loading/unloading position to an exit afterthe loading/unloading has completed, and control the vehicle toautonomously move to the exit along the second route and leave thetarget highway port.

Embodiment 2

The highway port in Embodiment 2 differs from the highway port inEmbodiment 1 in that a weighing position and a charging position areadded. A corresponding ground scale sensor is provided at the weighingposition, and the vehicle controller 12 can interact with the groundscale sensor for autonomous weighing at the weighing position. Acorresponding charging terminal is provided at the charging position,and the vehicle controller 12 can interact with the charging terminalfor autonomous charging at the charging position. After controlling thevehicle to autonomously pass the checkpoint, the vehicle controller 12can control the vehicle to pass the weighing position and the chargingposition sequentially during its movement from the position of thecheckpoint to the loading/unloading position.

FIG. 6 shows a highway port in which a weighing position and a chargingposition are added to the highway port shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 shows a highway port in which a weighing position and a chargingposition are added to the highway port shown in FIG. 3.

In Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, for details of theimplementation for the vehicle controller 12 to interact with thecheckpoint controller 13 at the position of the checkpoint forautonomously passing the checkpoint, reference can be made to Embodiment1 and description thereof will be omitted here.

In Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12controlling the vehicle to autonomously move from the position of thecheckpoint to the specified loading/unloading position in the targethighway port may include: controlling the vehicle to autonomously movefrom the position of the checkpoint to a weighing position, andinteracting with a ground scale sensor 15 corresponding to the weighingposition for autonomous weighing at the weighing position; controllingthe vehicle to autonomously move from the weighing position to acharging position, and interacting with a charging terminal 16corresponding to the charging position for autonomous charging at thecharging position; and controlling the vehicle to autonomously move fromthe charging position to the loading/unloading position.

In Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12 caninteract with the ground scale sensor 15 corresponding to the weighingposition for autonomous weighing at the weighing position as follows.The ground scale sensor 15 can weigh the vehicle in response to sensingthat the vehicle is stopping at the weighing position, and transmitweighing completion information to the vehicle controller 12. Thevehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to start and leave theweighing position in response to receiving the weighing completioninformation.

In an example, the ground scale sensor 15 can be further configured toobtain vehicle identification information of the vehicle and transmit aweighing result in association with the vehicle identificationinformation to the charging terminal 16.

The ground scale sensor 15 obtaining vehicle identification informationof the vehicle may include: the ground scale sensor 15 recognizing thevehicle identification information of the vehicle; or the ground scalesensor 15 receiving the vehicle identification information from thevehicle controller 12.

The vehicle controller 12 can interact with the ground scale sensor 15corresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing at theweighing position by using any of the following schemes (Schemes E1˜E2),as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme E1, the vehicle controller 12 can transmit the vehicleidentification information to the ground scale sensor 15, and controlthe vehicle to start and leave the weighing position in response toreceiving the weighing completion information transmitted from theground scale sensor 15. Accordingly, the ground scale sensor 15 canweigh the vehicle, transmit the weighing result in association with thevehicle identification information to the charging terminal 16, andtransmit the weighing completion information to the vehicle controller12.

In Embodiment 2, the vehicle controller 12 and the ground scale sensor15 can communicate with each other via a LAN within the highway port ora base station, or using Bluetooth, WiFi or other communication schemes,and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In Scheme E2, the ground scale sensor 15 can recognize the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle, weigh the vehicle, transmitthe weighing result in association with the vehicle identificationinformation to the charging terminal 16, and transmit the weighingcompletion information to the vehicle controller 12. Accordingly, thevehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to start and leave theweighing position in response to receiving the weighing completioninformation transmitted from the ground scale sensor 15.

The ground scale sensor 15 can recognize the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle by using any of the following schemes(Schemes F1˜F2), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme F1, the ground scale sensor 15 can control a sensor to capturean image of the vehicle, and apply an image recognition process to thecaptured image to obtain the vehicle identification information of thevehicle.

The sensor can be a camera which can be installed near the weighingposition and can have its lens facing the weighing position. Forexample, it can be installed on a fixed object near the weighingposition. The angle of the camera lens can be adjusted autonomously.

The ground scale sensor 15 can process the image transmitted from thecamera, and if the vehicle identification information is recognized fromthe image, verify the vehicle identification information. If no vehicleidentification information is recognized from the image, the capturingangle of the camera can be adjusted autonomously and the above actionscan then be repeated, until the vehicle identification information isrecognized.

The ground scale sensor 15 can recognize the vehicle identificationinformation from the image as follows. The ground scale sensor 15 canextract one or more features from the image, compare the extracted oneor more features with predetermined one or more feature corresponding tothe vehicle identification information, and determine the vehicleidentification information based on the matched features. In anembodiment of the present disclosure, the above vehicle identificationinformation can be information uniquely associated with the vehicle,e.g., a license plate number. When the vehicle identificationinformation is a license plate number, one or more featurescorresponding to the vehicle identification information may include asize, a shape (a rectangular frame), a color (blue or black), a textfeature (a length of a text string within the rectangular frame), or thelike.

In Scheme F2, the ground scale sensor 15 can control a sensor to scan aQR code or a barcode on the vehicle to obtain the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the QR code or barcodecontaining the vehicle identification information can be affixed to orprinted on a specific position (e.g., a front windshield, a left plate,or a chassis) of the vehicle in advance.

The ground scale sensor 15 can adjust the capturing angle of the camera,until the QR code or barcode can be successfully scanned.

In Embodiment 2, the vehicle controller 12 can interact with thecharging terminal 16 corresponding to the charging position forautonomous charging at the charging position as follows. The chargingterminal 16 can obtain vehicle identification information of thevehicle.

The charging terminal 16 can obtain a weighing result and a coveredmileage corresponding to the vehicle identification information, andcalculate an amount to be charged based on the weighing result and thecovered mileage. The charging terminal can transmit leaving instructioninformation to the vehicle controller 12 after determining that thevehicle controller 12 has paid the amount to be charged. The vehiclecontroller 12 can control the vehicle to start and leave the chargingposition in response to receiving the leaving instruction information.

In an example, the charging terminal 16 can be further configured totransmit the amount to be charged to the vehicle controller 12. Thevehicle controller 12 can be further configured to autonomously pay theamount to be charged in response to receiving the amount to be charged.The charging terminal 16 determining that the vehicle controller haspaid the amount to be charged may include: the charging terminal 16determining that the vehicle controller has paid the amount to becharged in response to successfully receiving the amount paid by thevehicle controller.

The vehicle controller 12 autonomously paying the amount to be chargedin response to receiving the amount to be charged may include: thevehicle controller 12 paying the amount to be charged using third-partypayment software, or the vehicle controller 12 controlling avehicle-mounted camera to scan a QR code corresponding to the chargingterminal and paying the amount to be charged using third-party paymentsoftware.

In another example, the charging terminal 16 can be further configuredto bill an account corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation for the amount to be charged, or deduct the amount to becharged from an ETC corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation. The charging terminal 16 determining that the vehiclecontroller 12 has paid the amount to be charged may include: thecharging terminal 16 determining that the vehicle controller 12 has paidthe amount to be charged in response to successfully billing the accountfor the amount to be charged or successfully deducting the amount to becharged from the ETC.

The vehicle controller 12 can interact with the charging terminal 16corresponding to the charging position for autonomous charging by usingany of the following schemes (Schemes G1˜G4), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme G1, the vehicle controller 12 can autonomously pay the amountto be charged in response to receiving the amount to be charged astransmitted from the charging terminal 16, and control the vehicle tostart and leave the charging position in response to receiving theleaving instruction information transmitted from the charging terminal16. Accordingly, the charging terminal 16 can obtain the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle, obtain the weighing resultand the covered mileage corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation, calculate the amount to be charged based on the weighingresult and the covered mileage, transmit the amount to be charged to thevehicle controller 12, receive the amount paid by the vehicle controller12, and transmit the leaving instruction information to the vehiclecontroller 12.

In Scheme G2, the vehicle controller 12 can transmit the vehicleidentification information to the charging terminal 16, autonomously paythe amount to be charged in response to receiving the amount to becharged as transmitted from the charging terminal 16, and control thevehicle to start and leave the charging position in response toreceiving the leaving instruction information transmitted from thecharging terminal 16. Accordingly, the charging terminal 16 can obtainthe weighing result and the covered mileage corresponding to the vehicleidentification information, calculate the amount to be charged based onthe weighing result and the covered mileage, transmit the amount to becharged to the vehicle controller 12, receive the amount paid by thevehicle controller 12, and transmit the leaving instruction informationto the vehicle controller 12.

In Schemes G1 and G2, the vehicle controller 12 autonomously paying theamount to be charged in response to receiving the amount to be chargedas transmitted from the charging terminal may include: the vehiclecontroller 12 controlling a vehicle-mounted camera to scan a QR codecorresponding to the charging terminal 16 and paying the amount to becharged using third-party payment software. Accordingly, the chargingterminal 16 receiving the amount paid by the vehicle controller 12 mayinclude: receiving the amount using the third-party payment software.

In Scheme G3, the vehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to startand leave the charging position in response to receiving the leavinginstruction information transmitted from the charging terminal 16.Accordingly, the charging terminal 16 can obtain the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle, obtain the weighing resultand the covered mileage corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation, calculate the amount to be charged based on the weighingresult and the covered mileage, bill the account corresponding to thevehicle identification information for the amount to be charged ordeduct the amount to be charged from the ETC corresponding to thevehicle identification information, and transmit the leaving instructioninformation to the vehicle controller 12.

In Scheme G4, the vehicle controller 12 can transmit the vehicleidentification information to the charging terminal 16, and control thevehicle to start and leave the charging position in response toreceiving the leaving instruction information transmitted from thecharging terminal 16. Accordingly, the charging terminal 16 can obtainthe weighing result and the covered mileage corresponding to the vehicleidentification information, calculate the amount to be charged based onthe weighing result and the covered mileage, bill the accountcorresponding to the vehicle identification information for the amountto be charged or deduct the amount to be charged from the ETCcorresponding to the vehicle identification information, and transmitthe leaving instruction information to the vehicle controller 12.

In Schemes G3 and G4, after calculating the amount to be charged, thecharging terminal 16 can directly bill the account of the payer for theamount to be charged. The charging terminal 16 can transmit bills to thepayer periodically (e.g., per month, per season, per half year or peryear) such that the payer can pay the corresponding fee. The payer canbe e.g., a driver of the vehicle or a transportation companying to whichthe vehicle belongs.

In another example, a correspondence between vehicle identificationinformation and ETCs of respective vehicles can be pre-stored at thecharging terminal 16. When the vehicle passes the charging terminal 16,the charging terminal 16 can deduct the amount to be paid currently fromthe ETC corresponding to the vehicle identification information of thevehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the charging terminal 16 cancalculate the amount to be charged based on the weighing result and thecovered mileage as follows. A road rate schedule, which specifies feesto be charged for various types of vehicles having different weights onrespective roads per kilometer, can be pre-stored in the chargingterminal 16. The charging terminal 16 can calculate the fee to becharged for the vehicle per kilometer based on the obtained weighingresult, the type of the vehicle and the road used, and then obtain theamount to be charged as a product of the fee to be charged per kilometerand the covered mileage (in units of kilometers).

For example, the rate schedule for a truck over 15 tons on variousexpressways can be as follows:

1) 2 CNY per kilometer on G1 Jing-Ha Expressway, G6 Jing-ZangExpressway, G7 Jing-Xin Expressway, G45 Da-Guang Expressway, G45016^(th) Ring, G101 Tong-Yan Expressway, G106 Jing-Guang Expressway, S15Jing-Jin Expressway, S36 Airport North, or S46 Jing-PING Expressway;

2) 0.81 CNY per kilometer on G2 Jing-Hu Expressway;

3) 2.5 CNY per kilometer on G4 Jing-HK-Macao Expressway; and

4) 2 CNY per kilometer on G103 Jing-Tang Expressway or S12 AirportExpressway.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the charging terminal 16 canobtain the vehicle identification information of the vehicle by usingany of the following schemes (Schemes H1˜H2), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme H1, the charging terminal 16 can recognize the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle.

In Scheme H2, the charging terminal 16 can receive the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle from the vehicle controller12.

The vehicle controller 12 and the charging terminal 16 can communicatewith each other via a base station, or using Bluetooth, WiFi or othercommunication schemes, and the present disclosure is not limitedthereto.

In particular, Scheme H1 can be implemented using any of the followingScheme H11 or H12, as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme H11, the charging terminal 16 can control a sensor to capturean image of the vehicle, and apply an image identification process tothe captured image to obtain the vehicle identification information ofthe vehicle.

The sensor can be a camera which can be installed near the chargingposition and can have its lens facing the charging position. Forexample, it can be installed on a fixed object near the chargingposition. The angle of the camera lens can be adjusted autonomously.

The charging terminal 16 can process the image transmitted from thecamera, and if the vehicle identification information is recognized fromthe image, verify the vehicle identification information. If no vehicleidentification information is recognized from the image, the capturingangle of the camera can be adjusted autonomously and the above actionscan then be repeated, until the vehicle identification information isrecognized.

The charging terminal 16 can recognize the vehicle identificationinformation from the image as follows. The charging terminal 16 canextract one or more features from the image, compare the extracted oneor more features with predetermined one or more features correspondingto the vehicle identification information, and determine the vehicleidentification information based on the matched features. In anembodiment of the present disclosure, the above vehicle identificationinformation can be information uniquely associated with the vehicle,e.g., a license plate number. When the vehicle identificationinformation is a license plate number, one or more featurescorresponding to the vehicle identification information may include asize, a shape (a rectangular frame), a color (blue or black), a textfeature (a length of a text string within the rectangular frame), or thelike.

In Scheme H12, the charging terminal 16 can control a sensor to scan aQR code or a barcode on the vehicle to obtain the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the QR code or barcodecontaining the vehicle identification information can be affixed to orprinted on a specific position (e.g., a front windshield or a leftplate) of the vehicle in advance. The charging terminal can adjust thecapturing angle of the camera, until the QR code or barcode can besuccessfully scanned.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12can interact with the loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position as follows. Theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 can obtain vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle, verify the vehicle identificationinformation, control a loading/unloading machine to load/unload goodswhen the vehicle identification information is successfully verified,and transmit a loading/unloading completion indication to the vehiclecontroller 12 when the loading/unloading has completed. Upon receivingthe loading/unloading completion indication, the vehicle controller 12can control the vehicle to leave the loading/unloading position.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus 14 can obtain vehicle identification information ofthe vehicle by using any of the following schemes (Schemes I1˜I3), asnon-limiting examples.

In Scheme I1, the loading/unloading control apparatus 14 can receive thevehicle identification information from the vehicle controller 12. Thatis, the vehicle controller 12 can actively transmit the vehicleidentification information to the loading/unloading control apparatus14.

In Scheme I2, the loading/unloading control apparatus 14 can control asensor to capture an image of the vehicle, and apply an imagerecognition process to the captured image to obtain the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle.

The sensor can be a camera which can be installed near theloading/unloading control apparatus or the loading/unloading position.For example, it can be installed on a fixed object (e.g., on astreetlight, next to a road, on a tree, on a warehouse door, or on agantry crane) near the loading/unloading position. The angle of thecamera lens can be adjusted autonomously.

The loading/unloading control apparatus 14 can process the imagetransmitted from the camera, and if the vehicle identificationinformation is recognized from the image, verify the vehicleidentification information. If no vehicle identification information isrecognized from the image, the capturing angle of the camera can beadjusted autonomously and the above actions can then be repeated, untilthe vehicle identification information is recognized.

The loading/unloading control apparatus 14 can recognize the vehicleidentification information from the image as follows. Theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 can extract one or more featuresfrom the image, compare the extracted one or more features withpredetermined one or more features corresponding to the vehicleidentification information, and determine the vehicle identificationinformation based on the matched features. In an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the above vehicle identification information can beinformation uniquely associated with the vehicle, e.g., a license platenumber or a vehicle identification number (which can be identityinformation allocated to the vehicle by the operation system). When thevehicle identification information is a license plate number, featurescorresponding to the vehicle identification information may include asize, a shape (a rectangular frame), a color (blue or black), a textfeature (a length of a text string within the rectangular frame), or thelike.

In Scheme I3, the loading/unloading control apparatus 14 can control asensor to scan a QR code or a barcode on the vehicle to obtain thevehicle identification information of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the QR code or barcodecontaining the vehicle identification information can be affixed to orprinted on a specific position (e.g., a front windshield or a leftplate) of the vehicle in advance. The loading/unloading controlapparatus can adjust the capturing angle of the camera, until the QRcode or barcode can be successfully scanned.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus 14 can verify the vehicle identification informationas follows. A list of vehicle identification information can bepre-stored in the loading/unloading control apparatus 14. Theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 can match the vehicleidentification information with the list of vehicle identificationinformation and determine that the vehicle identification information issuccessfully verified when the vehicle identification informationsuccessfully matches the list of vehicle identification information; orotherwise determine that the vehicle identification information is notsuccessfully verified. Alternatively, the loading/unloading controlapparatus 14 can transmit the vehicle identification information to aremote server and receive from the server a verification resultindicating whether the vehicle identification information issuccessfully verified.

In an example, the vehicle can be a container truck, and theloading/unloading machine can be a gantry crane, a forklift or a crane.The loading/unloading control apparatus 14 controlling theloading/unloading machine to load/unload goods may include: theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 controlling the loading/unloadingmachine to load a container corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation onto the vehicle; or the loading/unloading control apparatus14 controlling the loading/unloading machine to unload a container fromthe vehicle. In an example, a goods transportation list, which specifiesa correspondence between vehicle identification information of vehiclesand goods transportation information, can be pre-stored in theloading/unloading control apparatus 14. Here, the goods transportationinformation can include a container number, a container position and theloading/unloading position. When the vehicle is to load goods, theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 can obtain the container number,container position and loading/unloading position corresponding to thevehicle identification information from the goods transportation list,and transmit to the loading/unloading machine a loading instructioncontaining the container number, container position andloading/unloading position, such that the loading/unloading robot canmove to the container position and load the container corresponding tothe container number onto the vehicle stopping at the loading/unloadingposition. When the vehicle is to unload goods, the loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus 14 can obtain the container number, container positionand loading/unloading position corresponding to the vehicleidentification information from the goods transportation list, andtransmit to the loading/unloading machine an unloading instructioncontaining the container number, container position andloading/unloading position, such that the loading/unloading robot canunload the container from the vehicle at the loading/unloading positionand place it at the container position.

In another example, the loading/unloading machine can be a robot or aforklift. The vehicle can be a van having a compartment door that can beelectrically controlled to open or close and a lifting platform providedat a lower end of the compartment door. The loading/unloading positioncan be in front of a warehouse door of a target warehouse. The warehousedoor can have a warehouse platform. The vehicle controller 12 can befurther configured to control the compartment door to open autonomouslyafter controlling the vehicle to stop at the loading/unloading position,and to control the lifting platform to fall to the warehouse platform;and, upon receiving the loading/unloading completion indication, tocontrol the compartment door to autonomously close and control thelifting platform to retract. Accordingly, the loading/unloading controlapparatus 14 can be further configured to control the warehouse door toautonomously open when the vehicle identification information issuccessfully verified, and to control the warehouse door to close whenthe loading/unloading by the loading/unloading machine has completed.

In another example, magnetic nails or magnetic bars are laid onrespective floors of the warehouse platform, the lifting platform andthe compartment. The loading/unloading control apparatus 14 controllingthe loading/unloading machine to load/unload goods may include: theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 controlling the loading/unloadingmachine to continuously sensing magnetic signals generated from themagnetic nails or magnetic bars laid on the respective floors of thewarehouse platform, the lifting platform and the compartment using itsmagnetic navigation sensor, so as to navigate and trace in accordancewith a predetermined fixed path for loading/unloading.

In another example, a goods transportation list, which specifies acorrespondence between vehicle identification information of vehiclesand goods transportation information, can be pre-stored in theloading/unloading control apparatus 14. Here, the goods transportationinformation can include a goods number, a goods position and theloading/unloading position. When the vehicle is to load goods, theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 can obtain the goods number,goods position and loading/unloading position corresponding to thevehicle identification information from the goods transportation list,and transmit to the loading/unloading machine a loading instructioncontaining the goods number, goods position and loading/unloadingposition, such that the loading/unloading robot can move to the goodsposition and load the goods corresponding to the goods number onto thevehicle stopping at the loading/unloading position. When the vehicle isto unload goods, the loading/unloading control apparatus 14 can obtainthe goods number, goods position and loading/unloading positioncorresponding to the vehicle identification information from the goodstransportation list, and transmit to the loading/unloading machine anunloading instruction containing the goods number, goods position andloading/unloading position, such that the loading/unloading robot canunload the goods from the vehicle at the loading/unloading position andplace them at the goods position.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the compartment door mayhave any of various structures corresponding to different schemes forthe compartment door to autonomously open. Structures 1˜4 will bedescribed below as examples and the present disclosure is not limited toany of the following four structures of the compartment door.

Structure 1: As shown in FIG. 8, the compartment door may include anupper compartment door and a lower compartment door that can openvertically. The lower compartment door can be a lifting platform thatcan autonomously rise or fall. The vehicle controller controlling thecompartment door to open autonomously may include: the vehiclecontroller controlling the upper compartment door to open upwards andthe lower compartment door to open downwards and fall to the warehouseplatform.

Structure 2: As shown in FIG. 9, the compartment door may include alifting platform that can autonomously rise or fall. When retracted, thelifting platform becomes the compartment door. The vehicle controllercontrolling the compartment door to open autonomously may include: thevehicle controller controlling the lifting platform to open downwardsand fall to the warehouse platform.

Structure 3: As shown in FIG. 10, the compartment door may include arolling compartment door and a lifting platform that can rise or fall.The vehicle controller controlling the compartment door to openautonomously may include: the vehicle controller controlling the liftingplatform to open downwards and fall to the warehouse platform, and thencontrolling the rolling compartment door to roll up to the top.

Structure 4: As shown in FIG. 11, the compartment door may include aleft compartment door and a right compartment door that can openhorizontally, as well as a lifting platform that can rise or fall. Thevehicle controller controlling the compartment door to open autonomouslymay include: the vehicle controller controlling the lifting platform toopen downwards and fall to the warehouse platform, and then controllingthe left and right compartment doors to open outwards.

Alternatively, the left and right compartment doors in the aboveStructure 4 can be electrical retractable doors that can retractleftwards and rightwards.

The structure of the compartment door may include a compartment door anda goods plate. The compartment door may include an upper compartmentdoor and a lower compartment door that can open vertically, or a leftcompartment door and a right compartment door that can openhorizontally. The goods plate may be pushed or pulled like a draweralong rails on the floor of the compartment or the chassis of thevehicle.

Preferably, as there is a blind area at the back of the vehicle, inorder to accurately control the vehicle to move to the loading/unloadingposition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theloading/unloading control apparatus 14 may include a roadside basestation, which can be installed near the loading/unloading position(e.g., next to a road, on a streetlight, on a warehouse door, or on agantry crane).

Preferably, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehiclecontroller 12 can control the vehicle to autonomously move to theloading/unloading position by using any of the following schemes(Schemes J1˜J2), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme J1, the vehicle controller 12 can receive environmentinformation and a location of the roadside base station from theroadside base station, and receive a location of the vehicle from avehicle-mounted sensor (e.g., a positioning sensor, such as a GPS, anInertial Measurement Unit (IMU), or the like) in the vehicle. Thevehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to move and stop at theloading/unloading position in a predetermined gesture based on thelocation of the vehicle, the location of the roadside base station andthe environment information.

In Scheme J2, the vehicle controller 12 can control a vehicle-mountedsensor to transmit a location of the vehicle to the roadside basestation, and control the vehicle to move and stop at theloading/unloading position in a predetermined gesture in accordance withmoving guidance information (e.g., turning left by ** degrees, turningright by ** degrees, back off ** meters, or the like) transmitted fromthe roadside base station. The moving guidance information can be adriving control instruction generated by the roadside base station basedon the location of the vehicle and the location of the roadside basestation.

In Scheme J2, the roadside base station can obtain a kinematical modelof the vehicle from the vehicle controller 12, and calculate an optimaltrace for the vehicle from a current position to a specified positionbased on the kinematical model, the current position and a currentgesture of the vehicle. The roadside base station can calculate asteering angle and a speed of the vehicle based on the optimal trace,current gesture, current position and kinematical model of the vehicle,and transmit the steering angle and the speed to the vehicle controller,such that the vehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle to move andstop at the loading/unloading position in accordance with the steeringangle and the speed.

In Schemes J1 and J2, the predetermined gesture may depend on a positionof the compartment door of the vehicle. When the compartment door isprovided at the back of the vehicle, the predetermined gesture may bethe back of the vehicle facing the warehouse door. When the compartmentdoor is provided on a side of the vehicle, the predetermined gesture maybe the side of the vehicle facing the warehouse door.

Embodiment 3

The highway port in Embodiment 3 differs from the highway ports inEmbodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 in that a fuel refilling position isadded. A fuel refilling terminal 17 can be provided at the fuelrefilling position. The vehicle controller 12 can control the vehicle tostop at the fuel refilling position, and interact with the fuelrefilling terminal 17 for autonomous fuel refilling. FIG. 12 shows ahighway port in which a fuel refilling position is added to the highwayport shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 13 shows a highway port in which a fuelrefilling position is added to the highway port shown in FIG. 7.

The amount of fuel to be refilled is highly dependent on the load on thevehicle. Thus, it is required to weigh the vehicle before refilling thefuel to the vehicle. The vehicle controller 12 can be further configuredto: control the vehicle to autonomously move from the loading/unloadingposition to a weighing position after the autonomous loading/unloadinghas completed, and interact with a ground scale sensor corresponding tothe weighing position for autonomous weighing; and control the vehicleto autonomously move from the weighing position to a fuel refillingposition, and interact with a fuel refilling terminal 17 correspondingto the fuel refilling position for autonomous fuel refilling.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more weighingpositions can be provided in the highway port. For example, one weighingposition and one charging position can be provided the entranceposition, and one weighing position and one charging position can beprovided the exit position.

The vehicle controller 12 can interact with the fuel refilling terminal17 corresponding to the fuel refilling position for autonomous fuelrefilling as follows. The vehicle controller 12 can transmit a refillinginstruction carrying a fuel amount to the fuel refilling terminal 17,and control the vehicle to start and leave the fuel refilling positionin response to receiving a fuel refilling completion indicationtransmitted from the fuel refilling terminal 17. The fuel refillingterminal 17 can refill the fuel amount of fuel to a fuel tank of thevehicle autonomously in accordance with the refilling instruction, andtransmit the fuel refilling completion indication to the vehiclecontroller 12 in response to determining that the vehicle controller 12has paid a fuel fee.

In an example, the vehicle controller 12 can be further configured tocalculate the fuel amount to be refilled based on a weight of thevehicle and a fuel refilling policy in the transportation plan. The fuelamount is carried in the refilling instruction.

In an example, the fuel refilling terminal 17 can be further configuredto obtain vehicle identification information of the vehicle, obtain aweight and a fuel refilling policy corresponding to the vehicleidentification information, and calculate the fuel amount to be refilledbased on the weight and the fuel refilling policy in the transportationplan.

In an example, the fuel refilling policy may indicate fuel amountsdifferent weight levels of vehicles consume per 100 kilometers (referredto as fuel amounts per 100 kilometers). In this case, the vehiclecontroller 12 or the fuel refilling terminal 17 can calculate the fuelamount to be refilled by obtaining the fuel amount per 100 kilometerscorresponding to the weight level to which the weight of the vehiclebelongs, determining the total required fuel amount based on the fuelamount per 100 kilometers and the mileage to be covered according to thetransportation plan for the vehicle (i.e., the distance between a startpoint and an end point), obtaining a remaining fuel amount in the fueltank of the vehicle, and determining a difference between the totalrequired fuel amount and the remaining fuel amount as the fuel amount tobe refilled. Alternatively, the total required fuel amount can bedetermined as the fuel amount to be refilled directly.

In an example, the fuel refilling policy may indicate an equation forcalculating the fuel amount to be refilled. In this case, the vehiclecontroller 12 or the fuel refilling terminal 17 can calculate the fuelamount to be refilled by obtaining values of parameters in the equation(such as the weight of the vehicle, the covered mileage and any one ormore of a ground friction coefficient, a wind resistance, and an amountof fuel consumed by other parts of the vehicle per 100 kilometers), andcalculating the fuel amount to be refilled based on the values of therespective parameters.

In an example, the fuel refilling terminal 17 can be further configuredto calculate the fuel fee corresponding to the fuel amount, transmit thefuel fee to the vehicle controller 12, and determine that the vehiclecontroller has paid the fuel fee in response to successfully receivingthe fuel fee paid by the vehicle controller. Accordingly, the vehiclecontroller 12 can be further configured to autonomously pay the fuel feein response to receiving the fuel fee.

The vehicle controller 12 autonomously paying the fuel fee in responseto receiving the fuel fee may include: the vehicle controller 12 swipinga fuel rechargeable card on a card swiping position of the fuelrefilling terminal, or the vehicle controller 12 controlling avehicle-mounted camera to scan a QR code corresponding to the fuelrefilling terminal and paying the fuel fee using third-party paymentsoftware.

In another example, the fuel refilling terminal 17 can be furtherconfigured to calculate the fuel fee corresponding to the fuel amount,bill an account corresponding to the vehicle identification informationfor the fuel fee, or deduct the fuel fee from an ETC or a fuelrechargeable card corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation. The fuel refilling terminal 17 can determine that thevehicle controller 12 has paid the fuel fee in response to successfullybilling the account for the fuel fee or successfully deducting the fuelfee from the ETC or the fuel rechargeable card.

In an embodiment, the vehicle controller 12 can interact with the fuelrefilling terminal 17 corresponding to the fuel refilling position forautonomous fuel refilling by using any of the following schemes (SchemesK1˜K4), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme K1, the vehicle controller 12 can calculate a fuel amount tobe refilled based on a weight of the vehicle and a fuel refilling policyin the transportation plan, transmit a refilling instruction carryingthe fuel amount to the fuel refilling terminal, autonomously pay a fuelfee in response to receiving the fuel fee, and control the vehicle tostart and leave the fuel refilling position in response to receiving afuel refilling completion indication transmitted from the fuel refillingterminal 17. Accordingly, the fuel refilling terminal 17 can refill thefuel amount of fuel to a fuel tank of the vehicle autonomously inaccordance with the refilling instruction, transmit the fuel fee to thevehicle controller 12, receive the fuel fee paid by the vehiclecontroller 12, and transmit the fuel refilling completion indication tothe vehicle controller 12.

In Scheme K2, the vehicle controller 12 can transmit a refillinginstruction carrying a weight of the vehicle to the fuel refillingterminal 17, autonomously pay a fuel fee in response to receiving thefuel fee, and control the vehicle to start and leave the fuel refillingposition in response to receiving a fuel refilling completion indicationtransmitted from the fuel refilling terminal 17. Accordingly, the fuelrefilling terminal 17 can calculate a fuel amount to be refilled basedon the weight of the vehicle in the refilling instruction and apredetermined fuel refilling policy, refill the fuel amount of fuel to afuel tank of the vehicle autonomously, transmit the fuel fee to thevehicle controller 12, receive the fuel fee paid by the vehiclecontroller 12, and transmit the fuel refilling completion indication tothe vehicle controller 12.

In Schemes K1 and K2, the vehicle controller 12 can autonomously pay thefuel fee in response to receiving the fuel fee and the fuel refillingterminal 17 can receive the fuel fee by using any of the followingschemes (Schemes L1˜L2), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme L1, upon receiving the fuel fee, the vehicle controller 12 canswipe a fuel rechargeable card on a card swiping position of the fuelrefilling terminal 17. The fuel refilling terminal 17 can read anddeduct the fuel fee from the fuel rechargeable card.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a mechanical arm can beprovided at a cab of the vehicle. The mechanical arm can take the fuelrechargeable card from a position where it is stored and swipe it at thecard swiping position of the fuel refilling terminal.

In Scheme L2, upon receiving the fuel fee, the vehicle controller 12 cancontrol a vehicle-mounted camera to scan a QR code corresponding to thefuel refilling terminal 17 and pay the fuel fee using third-partypayment software. The fuel refilling terminal 17 can receive the fuelfee using the third-party payment software.

In Scheme K3, the vehicle controller 12 can calculate a fuel amount tobe refilled based on a weight of the vehicle and a fuel refilling policyin the transportation plan, transmit a refilling instruction carryingthe fuel amount to the fuel refilling terminal, and control the vehicleto start and leave the fuel refilling position in response to receivinga fuel refilling completion indication transmitted from the fuelrefilling terminal 17. Accordingly, the fuel refilling terminal 17 canrefill the fuel amount of fuel to a fuel tank of the vehicleautonomously in accordance with the refilling instruction, bill anaccount corresponding to the vehicle identification information for thefuel fee or deduct the fuel fee from an ETC or a fuel rechargeable cardcorresponding to the vehicle identification information, and transmitthe fuel refilling completion indication to the vehicle controller 12.

In Scheme K4, the vehicle controller 12 can transmit a refillinginstruction carrying a weight of the vehicle to the fuel refillingterminal 17, and control the vehicle to start and leave the fuelrefilling position in response to receiving a fuel refilling completionindication transmitted from the fuel refilling terminal 17. Accordingly,the fuel refilling terminal 17 can calculate a fuel amount to berefilled based on the weight of the vehicle in the refilling instructionand a predetermined fuel refilling policy, refill the fuel amount offuel to a fuel tank of the vehicle autonomously, bill an accountcorresponding to the vehicle identification information for the fuel feeor deduct the fuel fee from an ETC or a fuel rechargeable cardcorresponding to the vehicle identification information, and transmitthe fuel refilling completion indication to the vehicle controller 12.

In Schemes K3 and K4, a correspondence between vehicle identificationinformation and bills or ETCs of respective vehicles can be pre-storedat the fuel refilling terminal 17. In the case of billing, the fuelrefilling terminal 17 can pre-store a correspondence between the vehicleidentification information and the payment scheme, and can transmitbills corresponding to the vehicle identification information to thecorresponding payer periodically (e.g., per month, per season, per halfyear or per year) such that the payer can pay the corresponding fee.

In Schemes K3 and K4, the vehicle controller 12 can actively transmitthe vehicle identification information to the fuel refilling terminal17. Alternatively, the fuel refilling terminal 17 can recognize thevehicle identification information of the vehicle in the same way thecheckpoint controller 13 recognizes the vehicle identificationinformation, and details thereof will be omitted here.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fuel may include thefollowing types: combustible preparations (such as gasoline, diesel,ethanol, or the like), combustible gases (biogas, natural gas, or thelike), or fuel cells, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Embodiment 4

The highway port according to Embodiment 4 differs from the highwayports according to Embodiments 1, 2 and 3 in that an examination andrepair position is added. An examination and repair apparatus 18 isprovided at the examination and repair position. The vehicle controller12 can control the vehicle to stop at the examination and repairposition, and interact with the examination and repair apparatus 18 forautonomous examination and repair. For example, FIG. 14 shows a highwayport in which an examination and repair position is added to the highwayport shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 15 shows a highway port in which anexamination and repair position is added to the highway port shown inFIG. 13.

The vehicle controller 12 can be further configured to: obtainself-checking data of the vehicle; control the vehicle to autonomouslymove and stop at an examination and repair position in response todetermining that the vehicle malfunctions based on the self-checkingdata of the vehicle, and interact with an examination and repairapparatus corresponding to the examination and repair position forautonomous examination and repair.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12can obtain the self-checking data of the vehicle by using any of thefollowing schemes (Schemes M1˜M2), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme M1, the vehicle controller 12 can obtain monitoring data froma self-checking system of the vehicle.

In Scheme M1, the vehicle controller 12 can actively transmit a requestfor obtaining the monitoring data to the self-checking system of thevehicle periodically, so as to obtain the monitoring data from theself-checking system of the vehicle.

In Scheme M2, the vehicle controller 12 can receive monitoring data froma self-checking system of the vehicle.

In Scheme M2, the self-checking system of the vehicle can activelytransmit the monitoring data to the vehicle controller periodically.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring data maycontain self-checking data of various parts of the vehicle, includinge.g., tire pressure abnormity alarm information, Transmission ControlUnit (TCU) voltage abnormity alarm information, Anti-lock Braking System(ABS) abnormity alarm information, brake abnormity alarm information,airbag abnormity alarm information, or the like.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the monitoring datacontains alarm information for a part, it can be determined that thepart malfunctions.

The vehicle controller 12 can interact with the examination and repairapparatus 18 corresponding to the examination and repair position forautonomous examination and repair as follows. The vehicle controller 12can transmit vehicle diagnosis information to the examination and repairapparatus 18. The examination and repair apparatus 18 can determine arepair proposal based on the vehicle diagnosis information, and transmitthe repair proposal to the vehicle controller 12.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12can obtain the vehicle diagnosis information from an On-Board Diagnostic(OBD) system via a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, and transmit thevehicle diagnosis information to the examination and repair apparatus18.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the examination and repairapparatus 18 can determine the repair proposal based on the vehiclediagnosis information by using any of the following schemes (SchemesN1˜N3), as non-limiting examples.

In Scheme N1, the examination and repair apparatus 18 can obtain therepair proposal corresponding to the vehicle diagnosis information froma pre-stored correspondence between vehicle diagnosis information andrepair proposals.

In Scheme N2, the examination and repair apparatus 18 can transmit thevehicle diagnosis information to a remote server, and receive from theserver the repair proposal corresponding to the vehicle diagnosisinformation.

In Scheme N3, the examination and repair apparatus 18 can display arequest for proposal containing the vehicle diagnosis information on arepair interface, and generate the repair proposal corresponding to thevehicle diagnosis information based on contents a repairer inputs on therepair interface in response to the request for proposal.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12controlling the vehicle to autonomously move and stop at the examinationand repair position may include: the vehicle controller 12 planning aroute from a current position to a selected examination and repairposition by using map software or navigation software installed in thevehicle controller, and controlling the vehicle to move along the routeand stop at the examination and repair position.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the selected examination andrepair position can be an examination and repair position closest to thecurrent position of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller 12can actively transmit the vehicle identification information to theexamination and repair apparatus 18. Alternatively, the examination andrepair apparatus 18 can actively recognize the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle in the same way the checkpoint controller 13recognizes the vehicle identification information, and details thereofwill be omitted here.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the repair proposal mayinclude, but not limited to, one or more of: no repair required, to berepaired within the highway port, to call for rescue, to have a minorrepair in a maintenance store or a 4S store, to have a major repair in amaintenance store or a 4S store, or the like. When the repair proposalis to have a minor or major repair in a maintenance store or a 4S store,the vehicle controller 12 can search for a maintenance store or 4S storeclosest to the target highway port in an electronic map, and control thevehicle to move from the examination and repair position to an exitposition of the target highway port and control the vehicle to move fromthe exit position to the closest maintenance store or 4S store.

The vehicle controller 12 can be further configured to control thevehicle to autonomously move from the loading/unloading position to anexit position of the target highway port and leave the target highwayport after the autonomous loading/unloading has completed.

The vehicle controller 12 controlling the vehicle to autonomously movefrom the loading/unloading position to the exit position of the targethighway port may include: controlling the vehicle to autonomously movefrom the loading/unloading position to a weighing position forautonomous weighing; controlling the vehicle to autonomously move fromthe weighing position to a charging position for autonomous charging;and controlling the vehicle to autonomously move from the chargingposition to the exit position.

For implementation of the autonomous weighing at the weighing positionand the autonomous charging at the charging position, reference can bemade to the above description, and details thereof will be omitted here.

In an example, in the above Embodiments 1˜4, the operation system 11 maymanage all terminal devices within all highway ports directly, i.e., theoperation system 11 may interact with all terminal devices within allhighway ports directly, as shown in FIG. 16. In this case, the operationsystem 11 obtaining the transportation plan execution progress for thevehicle executing the transportation plan may include: receiving taskexecution information for the vehicle executing the transportation planfrom the terminal device within the target highway port in thetransportation plan, and generating the transportation plan executionprogress for the vehicle based on the task execution information. Here,the transportation plan execution progress can be obtained by thecontrol unit marking completed tasks and uncompleted tasks in thetransportation task list based on the task execution information.

In another example, in the above Embodiments 1˜4, a highway port controlsystem 19 can be provided in advance for each highway port, or a highwayport control system 19 can be provided in advance for all highway ports,as shown in FIG. 17. The highway port control system 19 can manage allterminal devices within one or more highway ports it manages. Theoperation system 11 can manage each highway port control system 19. Inthis case, the operation system 11 obtaining the transportation planexecution progress for the vehicle executing the transportation plan mayinclude: generating a transportation task list based on thetransportation plan for the vehicle, transmitting the transportationtask list in association with vehicle identification information of thevehicle to the highway port control system 19 corresponding to thetarget highway port in the transportation plan, and receiving thetransportation plan execution progress for the vehicle from the targethighway port control system 19. Here, the transportation plan executionprogress can be obtained by the highway port control system 19 markingcompleted tasks and uncompleted tasks in the transportation task listbased on the task execution information transmitted from the terminaldevices within the target highway port.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal devicesincluded within the highway port may include one or more of: acheckpoint controller, a ground scale sensor, a charging terminal, aloading/unloading control apparatus, a fuel refilling terminal and anexamination and repair apparatus. The task execution informationtransmitted from the checkpoint controller may indicate whether thevehicle has passed the checkpoint. The task execution informationtransmitted from the ground scale sensor may indicate whether thevehicle has been weighed. The task execution information transmittedfrom the charging terminal may indicate whether the vehicle has paid thefee. The task execution information transmitted from theloading/unloading control apparatus may indicate whether the vehicle hasloaded or unloaded goods. The task execution information transmittedfrom the fuel refilling terminal may include whether the vehicle hasbeen refilled with fuel. The task execution information transmitted fromthe examination and repair apparatus may indicate whether the vehiclehas been autonomously examined and repaired.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transportation plan mayinclude: vehicle identification information, transportation taskinformation, and in-port task information. Here, the transportation taskinformation may include a transportation start point, time of departurefrom the start point, a target highway port, loading/unloadinginstruction information, and time of arrival at the target highway port.The in-port task information may include task items and an executionorder of the task items. Here, the task items may include any one ormore of: passing the checkpoint at the position of the checkpoint,weighing at the weighing position, charging at the charging position,loading/unloading goods at the loading/unloading position, refilling atthe fuel refilling position, examining and repairing at the examinationand repair position, weighing at the weighing position afterloading/unloading, and leaving the target highway port.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a goods transportation listcan be stored in the operation system. The goods transportation list mayinclude a number of goods transportation tasks each containing a type ofgoods, an amount of goods, a storage position of goods, a destination ofgoods transportation, time of departure for goods transportation, andtime of arrival at the destination for goods transportation. Theoperation system can update the goods transportation list in real timeor periodically depending on actual situations, e.g., by adding newgoods transportation tasks, removing goods transportation tasks,modifying goods transportation tasks, or the like.

Basic information and dynamic information of various transportationvehicles can also be stored in the operation system. Here, the basicinformation may include vehicle identification information of thevehicle, a load capacity of the vehicle, a type of the vehicle (e.g., acontainer vehicle, a van, or a tanker), or a type of goods the vehicleis allowed to carry (e.g., fresh food, flammable objects, animals, orordinary goods). The dynamic information may include vehicle stateinformation (e.g., normal, malfunctioning, or under examination andrepair), vehicle position information, or vehicle operation information(e.g., executing the transportation plan or in an idle state). Theoperation system can communicate with the vehicle controller of thevehicle, such that the operation system can obtain the dynamicinformation of the vehicle from the vehicle controller in real time orperiodically. Alternatively, the vehicle controller can synchronize thedynamic information to the operation system periodically.

The operation system generating the transportation plan for the vehiclemay include: the operation system determining a vehicle that matcheseach goods transportation task based on each goods transportation taskand the basic information and dynamic information of each vehicle; andgenerating the transportation plan that matches the goods transportationtask for the vehicle that matches the goods transportation task based onthe goods transportation task.

For example, a goods transportation task may be to transport 10 tons ofgasoline stored at Warehouse A, departing from Warehouse A on Jul. 1,2017 and arriving at Highway Port B on July 3. The operation system mayselect from all vehicles a tanker that is normally operating, availablefrom July 1 to July 3, and capable of carrying at least 10 tons ofgasoline, as the vehicle that matches the goods transportation task (ifmore than one tanker is available, a vehicle near Warehouse A can beselected as the matching vehicle from these tankers). The operationsystem can generate a transportation plan for the matching vehicle basedon the transportation task.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a guide road as shown inFIG. 4 can be provided in the highway port shown in each of FIGS. 2, 3,7, 12, 13, 14, and 15. The rotatable base as shown in FIG. 5A or 5B canbe provided at the position of the checkpoint in the highway port asshown in each of FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, and 15. A weighingposition and a charging position can be provided before the exitposition in the highway port as shown in each of FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5A, 5B,7, 12, 13, 14, and 15. Before leaving the highway port, the vehicle canbe autonomously weighed at the weighing position and autonomouslycharged at the charging position, and can then leave the highway portvia the exit (details thereof will be omitted here).

The weighing position, charging position, examination and repairposition, and fuel refilling position in the highway port as shown inthe figures according to the embodiments of the present disclosure areillustrative only, and the present disclosure is not limited to thesespecific positions.

The system for autonomous transportation according to the embodiments ofthe present disclosure can be applied to docks, coastal ports (e.g.,Yang-Shan Port), or the like, in addition to highway ports.

Embodiment 5

According to Embodiment 5 of the present disclosure, a vehiclecontroller is provided. The vehicle controller has a structure shown inFIG. 18 and includes:

a communication unit 21 configured to transmit and receive information;and

a control unit 22 configured to control, in accordance with atransportation plan received by the communication unit 21, a vehicle toautonomously move to a position of a checkpoint at an entrance to atarget highway port, and interact with a checkpoint controllercorresponding to the position of the checkpoint for autonomously passingthe checkpoint; and control the vehicle to autonomously move from theposition of the checkpoint to a specified loading/unloading position inthe target highway port, and interact with a loading/unloading controlapparatus for autonomous loading/unloading at the loading/unloadingposition.

The communication unit 21 can receive the transportation plan from anoperation system and transmit the transportation plan to the controlunit 22.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to interact with thecheckpoint controller corresponding to the position of the checkpointfor autonomously passing the checkpoint may include the control unit 22being configured to: control the vehicle to start and pass the positionof the checkpoint upon determining that the checkpoint has given theclearance.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to determine that thecheckpoint has given the clearance may include the control unit 22 beingconfigured to determine that the checkpoint has given the clearance inresponse to receiving an allow-to-pass instruction transmitted from thecheckpoint controller via the communication unit 21; or detect whetherthe checkpoint has given the clearance using a vehicle-mounted sensor,and determine that the checkpoint has given the clearance in response todetecting such clearance.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to detect whether thecheckpoint has given the clearance using the vehicle-mounted sensor mayinclude the control unit 22 being configured to: determine that thecheckpoint has given the clearance in response to determining from animage or point cloud data transmitted from the vehicle-mounted sensorthat the checkpoint is in a state of clearance.

In Embodiment 5 of the present disclosure, the control unit 22 candetect whether the checkpoint in the front is in the state of clearancebased on information transmitted from a vehicle-mounted sensor (e.g., acamera, a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, or the like). Forexample, when the checkpoint is a road block, it can determine that theclearance has been given upon detecting that the road block is lifted.When the checkpoint is an electrical retractable door or sliding door,it can determine that the clearance has been given upon detecting thatthe electrical retractable door or sliding door has moved to one side ortwo sides and there is no further block behind the door.

Preferably, the control unit 22 can be further configured to control thevehicle to start and leave the position of the checkpoint in response toreceiving first instruction information indicating that the vehicle isnot allowed to pass and instructing the vehicle to leave the position ofthe checkpoint via a guide road from the checkpoint controller via thecommunication unit 21.

Preferably, the control unit 22 can be further configured to control thevehicle to start and leave the position of the checkpoint in response toreceiving second instruction information indicating that the vehicle isnot allowed to pass from the checkpoint controller via the communicationunit 21.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to control the vehicleto autonomously move to the position of the checkpoint at the entranceto the target highway port may include the control unit 22 beingconfigured to: plan a route from a current position to the position ofthe checkpoint and controlling the vehicle to autonomously move alongthe route; and control the vehicle to stop in response to determiningfrom an image or point cloud data transmitted from a vehicle-mountedsensor that an obstacle in the front is a checkpoint and the distancefrom the vehicle to the checkpoint is smaller than or equal to adistance threshold.

The control unit 22 being configured to control the vehicle toautonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to the specifiedloading/unloading position in the target highway port may include thecontrol unit 22 being configured to: control the vehicle to autonomouslymove from the position of the checkpoint to a weighing position, andinteract with a ground scale sensor corresponding to the weighingposition for autonomous weighing at the weighing position; control thevehicle to autonomously move from the weighing position to a chargingposition, and interact with a charging terminal corresponding to thecharging position for autonomous charging at the charging position; andcontrol the vehicle to autonomously move from the charging position tothe loading/unloading position.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to interact with theground scale sensor corresponding to the weighing position forautonomous weighing at the weighing position may include the controlunit 22 being configured to control the vehicle to start and leave theweighing position in response to receiving weighing completioninformation from the ground scale sensor via the communication unit 21.

Preferably, the control unit 22 can be further configured to transmitvehicle identification information to the ground scale sensor via thecommunication unit 21.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to interact with thecharging terminal corresponding to the charging position for autonomouscharging at the charging position may include the control unit 22 beingconfigured to control the vehicle to start and leave the chargingposition in response to receiving leaving instruction information fromthe charging terminal via the communication unit 21.

Preferably, the control unit 22 can be further configured toautonomously pay an amount to be charged in response to receiving theamount to be charged from the charging terminal via the communicationunit 21.

Preferably, the control unit 22 being configured to autonomously pay theamount to be charged in response to receiving the amount to be chargedmay include the control unit 22 being configured to: pay the amount tobe charged using third-party payment software, or control avehicle-mounted camera to scan a QR code corresponding to the chargingterminal and pay the amount to be charged using third-party paymentsoftware.

The control unit 22 being configured to interact with theloading/unloading control apparatus for autonomous loading/unloading atthe loading/unloading position may include the control unit 22 beingconfigured to: control the vehicle to leave the loading/unloadingposition in response to receiving a loading/unloading completionindication from the loading/unloading control apparatus via thecommunication unit 21.

In an example, the vehicle can be a van having a compartment door thatcan be electrically controlled to open or close and a lifting platformprovided at a lower end of the compartment door. The loading/unloadingposition can be in front of a warehouse door of a target warehouse. Thewarehouse door can have a warehouse platform. The control unit 22 can befurther configured to control the compartment door to open autonomouslyafter controlling the vehicle to stop at the loading/unloading position,and to control the lifting platform to fall to the warehouse platform;and, upon receiving the loading/unloading completion indication, tocontrol the compartment door to autonomously close and control thelifting platform to retract.

The predetermined gesture may depend on a position of the compartmentdoor of the vehicle. When the compartment door is provided at the backof the vehicle, the predetermined gesture may be the back of the vehiclefacing the warehouse door. When the compartment door is provided on aside of the vehicle, the predetermined gesture may be the side of thevehicle facing the warehouse door.

Preferably, as there is a blind area at the back of the vehicle, inorder to accurately control the vehicle to move to the loading/unloadingposition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theloading/unloading control apparatus may include a roadside base station,which can be installed near the loading/unloading position (e.g., nextto a road, on a warehouse door, or on a gantry crane).

In an example, the control unit 22 being configured to control thevehicle to autonomously move and stop at the loading/unloading positionmay include the control unit 22 being configured to receive environmentinformation and a location of the roadside base station from theroadside base station, receive a location of the vehicle from avehicle-mounted sensor in the vehicle, and control the vehicle to moveand stop at the loading/unloading position in a predetermined gesturebased on the location of the vehicle, the location of the roadside basestation and the environment information.

In an example, the control unit 22 being configured to control thevehicle to autonomously move and stop at the loading/unloading positionmay include the control unit 22 being configured to control avehicle-mounted sensor to transmit a location of the vehicle to theroadside base station, and control the vehicle to move and stop at theloading/unloading position in a predetermined gesture in accordance withmoving guidance information transmitted from the roadside base station.The moving guidance information can be a driving control instructiongenerated by the roadside base station based on the location of thevehicle and the location of the roadside base station.

In order to facilitate refilling fuel to the vehicle conveniently, afuel refilling station can be provided in the highway port. As an amountof fuel to be refilled is highly dependent on the load on the vehicle,it is required to weigh the vehicle before refilling the fuel to thevehicle.

The control unit 22 can be further configured to: control the vehicle toautonomously move from the loading/unloading position to a weighingposition after the autonomous loading/unloading has completed, andinteract with a ground scale sensor corresponding to the weighingposition for autonomous weighing; and control the vehicle toautonomously move from the weighing position to a fuel refillingposition, and interact with a fuel refilling terminal corresponding tothe fuel refilling position for autonomous fuel refilling.

The control unit 22 being configured to interact with the fuel refillingterminal corresponding to the fuel refilling position for autonomousfuel refilling may include the control unit 22 being configured to:transmit a refilling instruction carrying a fuel amount to the fuelrefilling terminal via the communication unit 21, and control thevehicle to start and leave the fuel refilling position in response toreceiving a fuel refilling completion indication transmitted from thefuel refilling terminal via the communication unit 21.

The control unit 22 can be further configured to calculate the fuelamount to be refilled based on a weight of the vehicle and a fuelrefilling policy in the transportation plan. The fuel amount is carriedin the refilling instruction.

The control unit 22 can be further configured to autonomously pay a fuelfee in response to receiving the fuel fee from the fuel refillingterminal via the communication unit 21.

The control unit 22 being configured to autonomously pay the fuel fee inresponse to receiving the fuel fee may include the control unit 22 beingconfigured to: swipe a fuel rechargeable card on a card swiping positionof the fuel refilling terminal, or control a vehicle-mounted camera toscan a QR code corresponding to the fuel refilling terminal and payingthe fuel fee using third-party payment software.

Preferably, in order to further improve the driving security of thevehicle, the control unit 22 can be further configured to: obtainself-checking data of the vehicle; control the vehicle to autonomouslymove and stop at an examination and repair position in response todetermining that the vehicle malfunctions based on the self-checkingdata of the vehicle, and interact with an examination and repairapparatus corresponding to the examination and repair position forautonomous examination and repair.

The control unit 22 being configured to interact with the examinationand repair apparatus corresponding to the examination and repairposition for autonomous examination and repair may include the controlunit 22 being configured to: transmit vehicle diagnosis information tothe examination and repair apparatus via the communication unit 21; andreceive a corresponding repair proposal from the examination and repairapparatus via the communication unit 21.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the repair proposal mayinclude, but not limited to, one or more of: no repair required, to berepaired within the highway port, to call for rescue, to have a minorrepair in a maintenance store or a 4S store, to have a major repair in amaintenance store or a 4S store, or the like. When the repair proposalis to have a minor or major repair in a maintenance store or a 4S store,the control unit 22 can search for a maintenance store or 4S storeclosest to the target highway port in an electronic map, and control thevehicle to move from the examination and repair position to an exitposition of the target highway port and control the vehicle to move fromthe exit position to the closest maintenance store or 4S store.

In Embodiment 5 of the present disclosure, the control unit 22 canactively transmit the vehicle identification information to theexamination and repair apparatus via the communication unit 21.Alternatively, the examination and repair apparatus can activelyrecognize the vehicle identification information of the vehicle.

Preferably, the control unit 22 can be further configured to control thevehicle to autonomously move from the loading/unloading position to anexit position of the target highway port and leave the target highwayport after the autonomous loading/unloading has completed.

Embodiment 6

According to Embodiment 6 of the present disclosure, an operation systemis provided. The operation system has a structure shown in FIG. 19 andinclude:

a vehicle scheduling unit 31 configured to generate a transportationplan for a vehicle, transmit the transportation plan to a vehiclecontroller of the vehicle, and adjust the transportation plan for thevehicle based on a transportation plan execution progress for thevehicle; and

a control unit 32 configured to obtain the transportation plan executionprogress for the vehicle executing the transportation plan and transmitthe transportation plan execution progress to the vehicle schedulingunit 31.

In an example, the operation system may manage all terminal deviceswithin all highway ports directly, i.e., the control unit 32 mayinteract with all terminal devices within all highway ports directly. Inthis case, the control unit 32 obtaining the transportation planexecution progress for the vehicle executing the transportation plan mayinclude: receiving task execution information for the vehicle executingthe transportation plan from the terminal device within the targethighway port in the transportation plan, and generating thetransportation plan execution progress for the vehicle based on the taskexecution information. Here, the transportation plan execution progresscan be obtained by the control unit 32 marking completed tasks anduncompleted tasks in the transportation task list based on the taskexecution information.

In another example, a highway port control system can be provided inadvance for each highway port, or a highway port control system can beprovided in advance for all highway ports. The highway port controlsystem can manage all terminal devices within one or more highway portsit manages. The operation system can manage each highway port controlsystem, i.e., the control unit 32 can interact with each highway portcontrol system directly. In this case, the control unit 32 obtaining thetransportation plan execution progress for the vehicle executing thetransportation plan may include: generating a transportation task listbased on the transportation plan for the vehicle, transmitting thetransportation task list in association with vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle to the highway port control systemcorresponding to the target highway port in the transportation plan, andreceiving the transportation plan execution progress for the vehiclefrom the target highway port control system. Here, the transportationplan execution progress can be obtained by the highway port controlsystem marking completed tasks and uncompleted tasks in thetransportation task list based on the task execution informationtransmitted from the terminal devices within the target highway port.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal devicesincluded within the highway port may include one or more of: acheckpoint controller, a ground scale sensor, a charging terminal, aloading/unloading control apparatus, a fuel refilling terminal and anexamination and repair apparatus. The task execution informationtransmitted from the checkpoint controller may indicate whether thevehicle has passed the checkpoint. The task execution informationtransmitted from the ground scale sensor may indicate whether thevehicle has been weighed. The task execution information transmittedfrom the charging terminal may indicate whether the vehicle has paid thefee. The task execution information transmitted from theloading/unloading control apparatus may indicate whether the vehicle hasloaded or unloaded goods. The task execution information transmittedfrom the fuel refilling terminal may include whether the vehicle hasbeen refilled with fuel. The task execution information transmitted fromthe examination and repair apparatus may indicate whether the vehiclehas been autonomously examined and repaired.

Embodiment 7

According to Embodiment 7 of the present disclosure, a method forautonomous vehicle transportation is provided. FIG. 20 shows a flowchartof this method, which includes the following steps.

At step 101, an operation system generates a transportation plan for avehicle and transmits the transportation plan to a vehicle controller ofthe vehicle.

At step 102, the vehicle controller controls, in accordance with thetransportation plan, the vehicle to autonomously move to a position of acheckpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, and interacts with acheckpoint controller corresponding to the position of the checkpointfor autonomously passing the checkpoint.

At step 103, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to autonomouslymove from the position of the checkpoint to a specifiedloading/unloading position in the target highway port, and interactswith a loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position.

In an example, in the step 102, the operation of interacting with thecheckpoint controller corresponding to the position of the checkpointfor autonomously passing the checkpoint may include the following stepsA1˜A2.

At step A1, the checkpoint controller obtains vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle, verifies the vehicle identificationinformation, and controls the checkpoint to give a clearance to thevehicle when the vehicle identification information is successfullyverified.

At step A2, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to start andpass the position of the checkpoint upon determining that the checkpointhas given the clearance.

In the step A2, the vehicle controller determining that the checkpointhas given the clearance may include: the vehicle controller determiningthat the checkpoint has given the clearance in response to receiving anallow-to-pass instruction transmitted from the checkpoint controller; orthe vehicle controller detecting whether the checkpoint has given theclearance using a vehicle-mounted sensor, and determining that thecheckpoint has given the clearance in response to detecting suchclearance.

Preferably, the vehicle controller detecting whether the checkpoint hasgiven the clearance using the vehicle-mounted sensor may include: thevehicle controller determining that the checkpoint has given theclearance in response to determining from an image or point cloud datatransmitted from the vehicle-mounted sensor that the checkpoint is in astate of clearance.

Preferably, the checkpoint controller can obtain the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle by using any of the followingschemes, as non-limiting examples. The checkpoint controller canactively recognize the vehicle identification information of thevehicle. Alternatively, the checkpoint controller can receive thevehicle identification information of the vehicle from the vehiclecontroller.

The checkpoint controller can actively recognize the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle in the same way as describedin Embodiment 1, and details thereof will be omitted here.

There may be vehicles accidentally entering the highway port inpractice. Preferably, in an example, in order to guide such vehicles toleave the highway port better and faster, the above method may furtherinclude: the checkpoint controller transmitting to the vehiclecontroller first instruction information indicating that the vehicle isnot allowed to pass and instructing the vehicle to leave the position ofthe checkpoint via a guide road, when the vehicle identificationinformation is not successfully verified. The vehicle controller cancontrol the vehicle to start and leave the position of the checkpoint inresponse to receiving the first instruction information.

Preferably, in an example, in order to allow a vehicle accidentallyentering the highway port to leave the highway port more quickly,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the position ofthe checkpoint can be configured as a rotatable base. The checkpointcontroller can control the rotatable base to rotate clockwise orcounterclockwise to stop at two directions, one for entering the highwayport (e.g., facing the checkpoint) and the other one for leaving thehighway port (e.g., facing away from the checkpoint or facing thedirection of the guide road). The above method may further include: thecheckpoint controller transmitting to the vehicle controller secondinstruction information indicating that the vehicle is not allowed topass, and rotating the rotatable base such that the vehicle is headingaway from the position of the checkpoint, when the vehicleidentification information is not successfully verified. The vehiclecontroller can control the vehicle to start and leave the position ofthe checkpoint in response to receiving the second instructioninformation.

Preferably, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehiclecontroller controlling the vehicle to autonomously move to the positionof the checkpoint at the entrance to the target highway port mayinclude: the vehicle controller planning a route from a current positionto the position of the checkpoint and controlling the vehicle toautonomously move along the route; and the vehicle controllercontrolling the vehicle to stop in response to determining from an imageor point cloud data transmitted from a vehicle-mounted sensor that anobstacle in the front is a checkpoint and the distance from the vehicleto the checkpoint is smaller than or equal to a distance threshold.

The vehicle controller can plan the route from the current position tothe position of the checkpoint by using map software or navigationsoftware on the vehicle side. The distance threshold can be an empiricalvalue, or can be calculated based on a moving speed and an inertia ofthe vehicle, i.e., the distance threshold can be a distance the vehiclecovers from braking to stopping.

Preferably, in the step 103, the step of controlling the vehicle toautonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to the specifiedloading/unloading position in the target highway port may include steps1031˜1033, as shown in FIG. 21.

At step 1031, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle toautonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to a weighingposition, and interacts with a ground scale sensor corresponding to theweighing position for autonomous weighing at the weighing position.

At step 1032, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle toautonomously move from the weighing position to a charging position, andinteracting with a charging terminal corresponding to the chargingposition for autonomous charging at the charging position.

At step 1033, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle toautonomously move from the charging position to the loading/unloadingposition.

In an example, in the step 1031, the operation of interacting with theground scale sensor corresponding to the weighing position forautonomous weighing at the weighing position may include the followingsteps B1˜B2.

At step B1, the ground scale sensor can weigh the vehicle in response tosensing that the vehicle is stopping at the weighing position, andtransmit weighing completion information to the vehicle controller.

At step B2, the vehicle controller can control the vehicle to start andleave the weighing position in response to receiving the weighingcompletion information.

Preferably, the vehicle controller can interact with the ground scalesensor corresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing atthe weighing position as follows. The ground scale sensor can weigh thevehicle in response to sensing that the vehicle is stopping at theweighing position, and transmit weighing completion information to thevehicle controller. The vehicle controller can control the vehicle tostart and leave the weighing position in response to receiving theweighing completion information.

Preferably, the above method can further include: the ground scalesensor obtaining vehicle identification information of the vehicle andtransmitting a weighing result in association with the vehicleidentification information to the charging terminal.

The ground scale sensor obtaining vehicle identification information ofthe vehicle may include: the ground scale sensor recognizing the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle; or the ground scale sensorreceiving the vehicle identification information from the vehiclecontroller.

The ground scale sensor can obtain the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle in the same way as described above, anddetails thereof will be omitted here.

In an example, in the step 1032, the operation of interacting with thecharging terminal corresponding to the charging position for autonomouscharging may include the following steps C1˜C4.

At step C1, the charging terminal obtains vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle.

At step C2, the charging terminal obtains a weighing result and acovered mileage corresponding to the vehicle identification information,and calculates an amount to be charged based on the weighing result andthe covered mileage.

At step C3, the charging terminal transmits leaving instructioninformation to the vehicle controller after determining that the vehiclecontroller has paid the amount to be charged.

At step C4, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to start andleave the charging position in response to receiving the leavinginstruction information.

In an example, the method can further include: the charging terminaltransmitting the amount to be charged to the vehicle controller; and thevehicle controller autonomously paying the amount to be charged inresponse to receiving the amount to be charged. The charging terminaldetermining that the vehicle controller has paid the amount to becharged may include: the charging terminal determining that the vehiclecontroller has paid the amount to be charged in response to successfullyreceiving the amount paid by the vehicle controller. The vehiclecontroller autonomously paying the amount to be charged in response toreceiving the amount to be charged may include: the vehicle controllerpaying the amount to be charged using third-party payment software, orthe vehicle controller controlling a vehicle-mounted camera to scan a QRcode corresponding to the charging terminal and paying the amount to becharged using third-party payment software.

In another example, the method can further include: the chargingterminal billing an account corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation for the amount to be charged, or deduct the amount to becharged from an ETC corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation. The charging terminal determining that the vehiclecontroller has paid the amount to be charged may include: the chargingterminal determining that the vehicle controller has paid the amount tobe charged in response to successfully billing the account for theamount to be charged or successfully deducting the amount to be chargedfrom the ETC.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the charging terminal cancalculate the amount to be charged based on the weighing result and thecovered mileage as follows. A road rate schedule, which specifies feesto be charged for various types of vehicles having different weights onrespective roads per kilometer, can be pre-stored in the chargingterminal 16. The charging terminal 16 can calculate the fee to becharged for the vehicle per kilometer based on the obtained weighingresult, the type of the vehicle and the road used, and then obtain theamount to be charged as a product of the fee to be charged per kilometerand the covered mileage (in units of kilometers).

The charging terminal can obtain the vehicle identification informationof the vehicle in the same way as described above, and details thereofwill be omitted here.

Preferably, in the step 1033, the operation of interacting with theloading/unloading control apparatus at the loading/unloading positionfor autonomous loading/unloading may include the following steps D1˜D2.

At step D1, the loading/unloading control apparatus obtains vehicleidentification information of the vehicle, verifies the vehicleidentification information, controls a loading/unloading machine toload/unload goods when the vehicle identification information issuccessfully verified, and transmits a loading/unloading completionindication to the vehicle controller when the loading/unloading hascompleted.

At step D2, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to leave theloading/unloading position upon receiving the loading/unloadingcompletion indication.

The loading/unloading control apparatus can obtain the vehicleidentification information of the vehicle in the same way as describedabove, and details thereof will be omitted here.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus can verify the vehicle identification information asfollows. A list of vehicle identification information can be pre-storedin the loading/unloading control apparatus. The loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus can match the vehicle identification information withthe list of vehicle identification information and determine that thevehicle identification information is successfully verified when thevehicle identification information successfully matches the list ofvehicle identification information; or otherwise determine that thevehicle identification information is not successfully verified.Alternatively, the loading/unloading control apparatus can transmit thevehicle identification information to a remote server and receive fromthe server a verification result indicating whether the vehicleidentification information is successfully verified.

In an example, the vehicle can be a container truck, and theloading/unloading machine can be a gantry crane, a forklift or a crane.The loading/unloading control apparatus controlling theloading/unloading machine to load/unload goods may include: theloading/unloading control apparatus controlling the loading/unloadingmachine to load a container corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation onto the vehicle; or the loading/unloading control apparatuscontrolling the loading/unloading machine to unload a container from thevehicle. In an example, a goods transportation list, which specifies acorrespondence between vehicle identification information of vehiclesand goods transportation information, can be pre-stored in theloading/unloading control apparatus. Here, the goods transportationinformation can include a container number, a container position and theloading/unloading position. When the vehicle is to load goods, theloading/unloading control apparatus can obtain the container number,container position and loading/unloading position corresponding to thevehicle identification information from the goods transportation list,and transmit to the loading/unloading machine a loading instructioncontaining the container number, container position andloading/unloading position, such that the loading/unloading robot canmove to the container position and load the container corresponding tothe container number onto the vehicle stopping at the loading/unloadingposition. When the vehicle is to unload goods, the loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus can obtain the container number, container positionand loading/unloading position corresponding to the vehicleidentification information from the goods transportation list, andtransmit to the loading/unloading machine an unloading instructioncontaining the container number, container position andloading/unloading position, such that the loading/unloading robot canunload the container from the vehicle at the loading/unloading positionand place it at the container position.

In another example, the loading/unloading machine can be a robot or aforklift. The vehicle can be a van having a compartment door that can beelectrically controlled to open or close and a lifting platform providedat a lower end of the compartment door. The loading/unloading positioncan be in front of a warehouse door of a target warehouse. The warehousedoor can have a warehouse platform. The vehicle controller can befurther configured to control the compartment door to open autonomouslyafter controlling the vehicle to stop at the loading/unloading position,and to control the lifting platform to fall to the warehouse platform;and, upon receiving the loading/unloading completion indication, tocontrol the compartment door to autonomously close and control thelifting platform to retract. Accordingly, the loading/unloading controlapparatus can be further configured to control the warehouse door toautonomously open when the vehicle identification information issuccessfully verified, and to control the warehouse door to close whenthe loading/unloading by the loading/unloading machine has completed.

In another example, magnetic nails or magnetic bars are laid onrespective floors of the warehouse platform, the lifting platform andthe compartment. The loading/unloading control apparatus controlling theloading/unloading machine to load/unload goods may include: theloading/unloading control apparatus controlling the loading/unloadingmachine to continuously sensing magnetic signals generated from themagnetic nails or magnetic bars laid on the respective floors of thewarehouse platform, the lifting platform and the compartment using itsmagnetic navigation sensor, so as to navigate and trace in accordancewith a predetermined fixed path for loading/unloading.

In another example, a goods transportation list, which specifies acorrespondence between vehicle identification information of vehiclesand goods transportation information, can be pre-stored in theloading/unloading control apparatus. Here, the goods transportationinformation can include a goods number, a goods position and theloading/unloading position. When the vehicle is to load goods, theloading/unloading control apparatus can obtain the goods number, goodsposition and loading/unloading position corresponding to the vehicleidentification information from the goods transportation list, andtransmit to the loading/unloading machine a loading instructioncontaining the goods number, goods position and loading/unloadingposition, such that the loading/unloading robot can move to the goodsposition and load the goods corresponding to the goods number onto thevehicle stopping at the loading/unloading position. When the vehicle isto unload goods, the loading/unloading control apparatus can obtain thegoods number, goods position and loading/unloading positioncorresponding to the vehicle identification information from the goodstransportation list, and transmit to the loading/unloading machine anunloading instruction containing the goods number, goods position andloading/unloading position, such that the loading/unloading robot canunload the goods from the vehicle at the loading/unloading position andplace them at the goods position.

Preferably, as there is a blind area at the back of the vehicle, inorder to accurately control the vehicle to move to the loading/unloadingposition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theloading/unloading control apparatus may include a roadside base station,which can be installed near the loading/unloading position (e.g., nextto a road, on a streetlight, on a warehouse door, or on a gantry crane).

In an example, in the step 103, the vehicle controller controlling thevehicle to autonomously move to the loading/unloading position mayinclude the following steps E1˜E2.

At step E1, the vehicle controller receives environment information anda location of the roadside base station from the roadside base station,and receives a location of the vehicle from a vehicle-mounted sensor inthe vehicle.

At step E2, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to move and stopat the loading/unloading position in a predetermined gesture based onthe location of the vehicle, the location of the roadside base stationand the environment information.

In an example, in the step 103, the vehicle controller controlling thevehicle to autonomously move to the loading/unloading position mayinclude: the vehicle controller controlling a vehicle-mounted sensor totransmit a location of the vehicle to the roadside base station, andcontrolling the vehicle to move and stop at the loading/unloadingposition in a predetermined gesture in accordance with moving guidanceinformation transmitted from the roadside base station. The movingguidance information can be a driving control instruction generated bythe roadside base station based on the location of the vehicle and thelocation of the roadside base station.

The roadside base station can obtain a kinematical model of the vehiclefrom the vehicle controller, and calculate an optimal trace for thevehicle from a current position to a specified position based on thekinematical model, the current position and a current gesture of thevehicle. The roadside base station can calculate a steering angle and aspeed of the vehicle based on the optimal trace, current gesture,current position and kinematical model of the vehicle, and transmit thesteering angle and the speed to the vehicle controller, such that thevehicle controller can control the vehicle to move and stop at theloading/unloading position in accordance with the steering angle and thespeed.

The predetermined gesture may depend on a position of the compartmentdoor of the vehicle. When the compartment door is provided at the backof the vehicle, the predetermined gesture may be the back of the vehiclefacing the warehouse door. When the compartment door is provided on aside of the vehicle, the predetermined gesture may be the side of thevehicle facing the warehouse door.

Preferably, the above process flows shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 can furtherinclude the following steps 104˜105. FIG. 22 shows the method processshown in FIG. 20 further including the steps 104˜105. FIG. 23 shows themethod process shown in FIG. 21 further including the steps 104˜105.

At step 104, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to autonomouslymove from the loading/unloading position to a weighing position, andinteract with a ground scale sensor corresponding to the weighingposition for autonomous weighing.

At step 105, the vehicle controller controls the vehicle to autonomouslymove from the weighing position to a fuel refilling position, andinteracts with a fuel refilling terminal corresponding to the fuelrefilling position for autonomous fuel refilling.

In an example, in the step 105, the operation of interacting with thefuel refilling terminal corresponding to the fuel refilling position forautonomous fuel refilling may include:

the vehicle controller transmitting a refilling instruction carrying afuel amount to the fuel refilling terminal, and controlling the vehicleto start and leave the fuel refilling position in response to receivinga fuel refilling completion indication transmitted from the fuelrefilling terminal; and the fuel refilling terminal refilling the fuelamount of fuel to a fuel tank of the vehicle autonomously in accordancewith the refilling instruction, and transmitting the fuel refillingcompletion indication to the vehicle controller in response todetermining that the vehicle controller has paid a fuel fee.

In an example, the step 105 can further include: calculating the fuelamount to be refilled based on a weight of the vehicle and a fuelrefilling policy in the transportation plan. The fuel amount is carriedin the refilling instruction.

In an example, the fuel refilling terminal can be further configured toobtain vehicle identification information of the vehicle, obtain aweight and a fuel refilling policy corresponding to the vehicleidentification information, and calculate the fuel amount to be refilledbased on the weight and the fuel refilling policy in the transportationplan.

In an example, the step 105 can further include: the fuel refillingterminal calculating the fuel fee corresponding to the fuel amount, andtransmitting the fuel fee to the vehicle controller; the vehiclecontroller autonomously paying the fuel fee in response to receiving thefuel fee; and the fuel refilling terminal determining that the vehiclecontroller has paid the fuel fee in response to successfully receivingthe fuel fee paid by the vehicle controller.

The vehicle controller autonomously paying the fuel fee in response toreceiving the fuel fee may include: the vehicle controller swiping afuel rechargeable card on a card swiping position of the fuel refillingterminal, or the vehicle controller controlling a vehicle-mounted camerato scan a QR code corresponding to the fuel refilling terminal andpaying the fuel fee using third-party payment software.

In an example, the step 105 can further include: the fuel refillingterminal calculating the fuel fee corresponding to the fuel amount,billing an account corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation for the fuel fee, or deducting the fuel fee from an ETC or afuel rechargeable card corresponding to the vehicle identificationinformation; and the fuel refilling terminal determining that thevehicle controller has paid the fuel fee in response to successfullybilling the account for the fuel fee or successfully deducting the fuelfee from the ETC or the fuel rechargeable card.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fuel may include thefollowing types: combustible preparations (such as gasoline, diesel,ethanol, or the like), combustible gases (biogas, natural gas, or thelike), or fuel cells, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Preferably, the above process flows shown in FIGS. 20˜23 can furtherinclude the following step 106. FIG. 24 shows the method process shownin FIG. 23 further including the step 106.

At step 106, the vehicle controller obtains self-checking data of thevehicle; and controls the vehicle to autonomously move and stop at anexamination and repair position in response to determining that thevehicle malfunctions based on the self-checking data of the vehicle, andinteracts with an examination and repair apparatus corresponding to theexamination and repair position for autonomous examination and repair.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller canobtain the self-checking data of the vehicle by using any of thefollowing schemes, as non-limiting examples. The vehicle controller canobtain monitoring data from a self-checking system of the vehicle.Alternatively, the vehicle controller can receive monitoring data from aself-checking system of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the monitoring data maycontain self-checking data of various parts of the vehicle, includinge.g., tire pressure abnormity alarm information, TCU voltage abnormityalarm information, ABS abnormity alarm information, brake abnormityalarm information, or the like.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the monitoring datacontains alarm information for a part, it can be determined that thepart malfunctions.

The vehicle controller interacting with the examination and repairapparatus corresponding to the examination and repair position forautonomous examination and repair may include: the vehicle controllertransmitting vehicle diagnosis information to the examination and repairapparatus; and the examination and repair apparatus determining a repairproposal based on the vehicle diagnosis information, and transmittingthe repair proposal to the vehicle controller.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller canobtain the vehicle diagnosis information from an OBD system via a CANbus, and transmit the vehicle diagnosis information to the examinationand repair apparatus.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the examination and repairapparatus can determine the repair proposal based on the vehiclediagnosis information by using any of the following schemes, asnon-limiting examples. The examination and repair apparatus can obtainthe repair proposal corresponding to the vehicle diagnosis informationfrom a pre-stored correspondence between vehicle diagnosis informationand repair proposals. Alternatively, the examination and repairapparatus can transmit the vehicle diagnosis information to a remoteserver, and receive from the server the repair proposal corresponding tothe vehicle diagnosis information. Alternatively, the examination andrepair apparatus can display a request for proposal containing thevehicle diagnosis information on a repair interface, and generate therepair proposal corresponding to the vehicle diagnosis information basedon contents a repairer inputs on the repair interface in response to therequest for proposal.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controllercontrolling the vehicle to autonomously move and stop at the examinationand repair position may include: the vehicle controller planning a routefrom a current position to a selected examination and repair position byusing map software or navigation software installed in the vehiclecontroller, and controlling the vehicle to move along the route and stopat the examination and repair position.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the selected examination andrepair position can be an examination and repair position closest to thecurrent position of the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle controller canactively transmit the vehicle identification information to theexamination and repair apparatus. Alternatively, the examination andrepair apparatus can actively recognize the vehicle identificationinformation of the vehicle in the same way the checkpoint controllerrecognizes the vehicle identification information, and details thereofwill be omitted here.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the repair proposal mayinclude, but not limited to, one or more of: no repair required, to berepaired within the highway port, to call for rescue, to have a minorrepair in a maintenance store or a 4S store, to have a major repair in amaintenance store or a 4S store, or the like. When the repair proposalis to have a minor or major repair in a maintenance store or a 4S store,the vehicle controller 12 can search for a maintenance store or 4S storeclosest to the target highway port in an electronic map, and control thevehicle to move from the examination and repair position to an exitposition of the target highway port and control the vehicle to move fromthe exit position to the closest maintenance store or 4S store.

Preferably, the above method may further include: the vehicle controllercontrolling the vehicle to autonomously move from the loading/unloadingposition to an exit position of the target highway port and leave thetarget highway port after the autonomous loading/unloading hascompleted.

In an example, the vehicle controller controlling the vehicle toautonomously move from the loading/unloading position to the exitposition of the target highway port may include: the vehicle controllerplanning a route from the loading/unloading position to the exitposition, and controlling the vehicle to autonomously move from theloading/unloading position to the exit position along the route.

In another example, the vehicle controller controlling the vehicle toautonomously move from the loading/unloading position to the exitposition of the target highway port may include: controlling the vehicleto autonomously move from the loading/unloading position to a weighingposition for autonomous weighing; controlling the vehicle toautonomously move from the weighing position to a charging position forautonomous charging; and controlling the vehicle to autonomously movefrom the charging position to the exit position.

In an example, the operation system may manage all terminal deviceswithin all highway ports directly, i.e., the operation system mayinteract with all terminal devices within all highway ports directly. Inthis case, the operation system obtaining the transportation planexecution progress for the vehicle executing the transportation plan mayinclude: receiving task execution information for the vehicle executingthe transportation plan from the terminal device within the targethighway port in the transportation plan, and generating thetransportation plan execution progress for the vehicle based on the taskexecution information. Here, the transportation plan execution progresscan be obtained by the control unit marking completed tasks anduncompleted tasks in the transportation task list based on the taskexecution information.

A highway port control system can be provided in advance for eachhighway port, or a highway port control system can be provided inadvance for all highway ports. The highway port control system canmanage all terminal devices within one or more highway ports it manages.The operation system can manage each highway port control system. Inthis case, the operation system obtaining the transportation planexecution progress for the vehicle executing the transportation plan mayinclude: generating a transportation task list based on thetransportation plan for the vehicle, transmitting the transportationtask list in association with vehicle identification information of thevehicle to the highway port control system 19 corresponding to thetarget highway port in the transportation plan, and receiving thetransportation plan execution progress for the vehicle from the targethighway port control system. Here, the transportation plan executionprogress can be obtained by the highway port control system markingcompleted tasks and uncompleted tasks in the transportation task listbased on the task execution information transmitted from the terminaldevices within the target highway port.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal devicesincluded within the highway port may include one or more of: acheckpoint controller, a ground scale sensor, a charging terminal, aloading/unloading control apparatus, a fuel refilling terminal and anexamination and repair apparatus. The task execution informationtransmitted from the checkpoint controller may indicate whether thevehicle has passed the checkpoint. The task execution informationtransmitted from the ground scale sensor may indicate whether thevehicle has been weighed. The task execution information transmittedfrom the charging terminal may indicate whether the vehicle has paid thefee. The task execution information transmitted from theloading/unloading control apparatus may indicate whether the vehicle hasloaded or unloaded goods. The task execution information transmittedfrom the fuel refilling terminal may include whether the vehicle hasbeen refilled with fuel. The task execution information transmitted fromthe examination and repair apparatus may indicate whether the vehiclehas been autonomously examined and repaired.

With the system and method for autonomous vehicle transportation, in oneaspect, the operation system can manage and schedule vehicles, generatetransportation plans for the respective vehicles, and synchronize thetransportation plans to vehicle controllers of the respective vehicles,such that no management personnel are needed for managing and schedulingthe vehicles. In another aspect, the vehicle controller controls thevehicle to execute the transportation plan so as to achieve autonomoustransportation of goods, without the need for truck drivers. In yetanother aspect, with the vehicle controller controlling movement of thevehicle, problems such as driving while tired, drunk or drugged can beavoided, thereby improving the driving security. Therefore, thesolutions according to the present disclosure can not only save costs ofgoods transportation, but also reduce security risks in drivingvehicles.

The basic principles of the present disclosure have been described abovewith reference to the embodiments. However, it can be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that all or any of the steps or components ofthe method or apparatus according to the present disclosure can beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software or any combination thereofin any computing device (including a processor, a storage medium, etc.)or a network of computing devices. This can be achieved by those skilledin the art using their basic programing skills based on the descriptionof the present disclosure.

It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or part ofthe steps in the method according to the above embodiment can beimplemented in hardware following instructions of a program. The programcan be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The program, whenexecuted, may include one or any combination of the steps in the methodaccording to the above embodiment.

Further, the functional units in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure can be integrated into one processing module or can bephysically separate, or two or more units can be integrated into onemodule. Such integrated module can be implemented in hardware orsoftware functional units. When implemented in software functional unitsand sold or used as a standalone product, the integrated module can bestored in a computer readable storage medium.

It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodimentsof the present disclosure can be implemented as a method, a system or acomputer program product. The present disclosure may include purehardware embodiments, pure software embodiments and any combinationthereof Also, the present disclosure may include a computer programproduct implemented on one or more computer readable storage mediums(including, but not limited to, magnetic disk storage and opticalstorage) containing computer readable program codes.

The present disclosure has been described with reference to theflowcharts and/or block diagrams of the method, device (system) andcomputer program product according to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It can be appreciated that each process and/or block in theflowcharts and/or block diagrams, or any combination thereof, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. Such computer programinstructions can be provided to a general computer, a dedicatedcomputer, an embedded processor or a processor of any other programmabledata processing device to constitute a machine, such that theinstructions executed by a processor of a computer or any otherprogrammable data processing device can constitute means forimplementing the functions specified by one or more processes in theflowcharts and/or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computerreadable memory that can direct a computer or any other programmabledata processing device to operate in a particular way. Thus, theinstructions stored in the computer readable memory constitute amanufacture including instruction means for implementing the functionsspecified by one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or one or moreblocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computeror any other programmable data processing device, such that the computeror the programmable data processing device can perform a series ofoperations/steps to achieve a computer-implemented process. In this way,the instructions executed on the computer or the programmable dataprocessing device can provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified by one or more processes in the flowcharts and/or one or moreblocks in the block diagrams.

While the embodiments of the present disclosure have described above,further alternatives and modifications can be made to these embodimentsby those skilled in the art in light of the basic inventive concept ofthe present disclosure. The claims as attached are intended to cover theabove embodiments and all these alternatives and modifications that fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

Obviously, various modifications and variants can be made to the presentdisclosure by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, these modifications andvariants are to be encompassed by the present disclosure if they fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for autonomous vehicle transportation,comprising an operation system and a vehicle controller of a vehicle,wherein the operation system is configured to generate a transportationplan for the vehicle and transmit the transportation plan to the vehiclecontroller of the vehicle; and the vehicle controller is configured tocontrol, in accordance with the transportation plan, the vehicle toautonomously move to a position of a checkpoint at an entrance to atarget highway port, and interact with a checkpoint controllercorresponding to the position of the checkpoint for autonomously passingthe checkpoint; and control the vehicle to autonomously move from theposition of the checkpoint to a specified loading/unloading position inthe target highway port, and interact with a loading/unloading controlapparatus for autonomous loading/unloading at the loading/unloadingposition.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said interacting with thecheckpoint controller corresponding to the position of the checkpointfor autonomously passing the checkpoint comprises: obtaining, by thecheckpoint controller, vehicle identification information of thevehicle, verifying the vehicle identification information, andcontrolling the checkpoint to give a clearance to the vehicle when thevehicle identification information is successfully verified; andcontrolling, by the vehicle controller upon determining that thecheckpoint has given the clearance, the vehicle to start and pass theposition of the checkpoint.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein saidcontrolling the vehicle to autonomously move from the position of thecheckpoint to the specified loading/unloading position in the targethighway port comprises: controlling, by the vehicle controller, thevehicle to autonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to aweighing position, and interacting with a ground scale sensorcorresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing at theweighing position; controlling, by the vehicle controller, the vehicleto autonomously move from the weighing position to a charging position,and interacting with a charging terminal corresponding to the chargingposition for autonomous charging at the charging position; andcontrolling, by the vehicle controller, the vehicle to autonomously movefrom the charging position to the loading/unloading position.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said interacting with the loading/unloadingcontrol apparatus for autonomous loading/unloading at theloading/unloading position comprises: obtaining, by theloading/unloading control apparatus, vehicle identification informationof the vehicle, verifying the vehicle identification information,controlling a loading/unloading machine to load/unload goods when thevehicle identification information is successfully verified, andtransmitting a loading/unloading completion indication to the vehiclecontroller when the loading/unloading has completed; and controlling, bythe vehicle controller upon receiving the loading/unloading completionindication, the vehicle to leave the loading/unloading position.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the loading/unloading control apparatuscomprises a roadside base station, and wherein the vehicle controllercontrolling the vehicle to autonomously move to the loading/unloadingposition comprises a first scheme and a second scheme; wherein, thefirst scheme comprises: receiving, by the vehicle controller,environment information and a location of the roadside base station fromthe roadside base station, and receiving a location of the vehicle froma vehicle-mounted sensor in the vehicle; and controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, the vehicle to move and stop at the loading/unloadingposition in a predetermined gesture based on the location of thevehicle, the location of the roadside base station and the environmentinformation; the second scheme comprises: controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, a vehicle-mounted sensor to transmit a location of thevehicle to the roadside base station, and controlling the vehicle tomove and stop at the loading/unloading position in a predeterminedgesture in accordance with moving guidance information transmitted fromthe roadside base station, wherein the moving guidance information is adriving control instruction generated by the roadside base station basedon the location of the vehicle and the location of the roadside basestation.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller isfurther configured to: control the vehicle to autonomously move from theloading/unloading position to a weighing position after the autonomousloading/unloading has completed, and interact with a ground scale sensorcorresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing; andcontrol the vehicle to autonomously move from the weighing position to afuel refilling position, and interact with a fuel refilling terminalcorresponding to the fuel refilling position for autonomous fuelrefilling.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle controller isfurther configured to: obtain self-checking data of the vehicle; andcontrol the vehicle to autonomously move and stop at an examination andrepair position in response to determining that the vehicle malfunctionsbased on the self-checking data of the vehicle, and interact with anexamination and repair apparatus corresponding to the examination andrepair position for autonomous examination and repair.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising: a highway port control system configuredto: manage terminal devices within the highway port; receive taskexecution information for the vehicle from the terminal devices andgenerate a transportation plan execution progress for the vehicle basedon the task execution information; and transmit the transportation planexecution progress to the operation system.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the operation system is further configured to: manage terminaldevices within respective highway ports; receive task executioninformation for the vehicle from the terminal devices in the targethighway port and adjust the transportation plan for the vehicle based onthe task execution information; and transmit the adjusted transportationplan to the vehicle controller of the vehicle.
 10. A method forautonomous vehicle transportation, comprising generating, by anoperation system, a transportation plan for a vehicle and transmittingthe transportation plan to a vehicle controller of the vehicle; andcontrolling, by the vehicle controller in accordance with thetransportation plan, the vehicle to autonomously move to a position of acheckpoint at an entrance to a target highway port, and interacting witha checkpoint controller corresponding to the position of the checkpointfor autonomously passing the checkpoint; and controlling the vehicle toautonomously move from the position of the checkpoint to a specifiedloading/unloading position in the target highway port, and interactingwith a loading/unloading control apparatus for autonomousloading/unloading at the loading/unloading position.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein said interacting with the checkpoint controllercorresponding to the position of the checkpoint for autonomously passingthe checkpoint comprises: obtaining, by the checkpoint controller,vehicle identification information of the vehicle, verifying the vehicleidentification information, and controlling the checkpoint to give aclearance to the vehicle when the vehicle identification information issuccessfully verified; and controlling, by the vehicle controller upondetermining that the checkpoint has given the clearance, the vehicle tostart and pass the position of the checkpoint.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein said controlling the vehicle to autonomously move from theposition of the checkpoint to the specified loading/unloading positionin the target highway port comprises: controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, the vehicle to autonomously move from the position of thecheckpoint to a weighing position, and interacting with a ground scalesensor corresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing atthe weighing position; controlling, by the vehicle controller, thevehicle to autonomously move from the weighing position to a chargingposition, and interacting with a charging terminal corresponding to thecharging position for autonomous charging at the charging position; andcontrolling, by the vehicle controller, the vehicle to autonomously movefrom the charging position to the loading/unloading position.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, wherein said interacting with the ground scalesensor corresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing atthe weighing position comprises: weighing, by the ground scale sensor,the vehicle in response to sensing that the vehicle is stopping at theweighing position, and transmitting weighing completion information tothe vehicle controller; and controlling, by the vehicle controller, thevehicle to start and leave the weighing position in response toreceiving the weighing completion information.
 14. The method of claim12, wherein said interacting with the charging terminal corresponding tothe charging position for autonomous charging comprises: obtaining, bythe charging terminal, vehicle identification information of thevehicle; obtaining, by the charging terminal, a weighing result and acovered mileage corresponding to the vehicle identification information,and calculating an amount to be charged based on the weighing result andthe covered mileage; transmitting, by the charging terminal, leavinginstruction information to the vehicle controller after determining thatthe vehicle controller has paid the amount to be charged; andcontrolling, by the vehicle controller, the vehicle to start and leavethe charging position in response to receiving the leaving instructioninformation.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein said interacting withthe loading/unloading control apparatus at the loading/unloadingposition for autonomous loading/unloading comprises: obtaining, by theloading/unloading control apparatus, vehicle identification informationof the vehicle, verifying the vehicle identification information,controlling a loading/unloading machine to load/unload goods when thevehicle identification information is successfully verified, andtransmitting a loading/unloading completion indication to the vehiclecontroller when the loading/unloading has completed; and controlling, bythe vehicle controller upon receiving the loading/unloading completionindication, the vehicle to leave the loading/unloading position.
 16. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the loading/unloading control apparatuscomprises a roadside base station, and wherein the vehicle controllercontrolling the vehicle to autonomously move to the loading/unloadingposition comprises a first scheme or a second scheme; wherein, the firstscheme comprises: receiving, by the vehicle controller, environmentinformation and a location of the roadside base station from theroadside base station, and receiving a location of the vehicle from avehicle-mounted sensor in the vehicle; and controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, the vehicle to move and stop at the loading/unloadingposition in a predetermined gesture based on the location of thevehicle, the location of the roadside base station and the environmentinformation; the second scheme comprises: controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, a vehicle-mounted sensor to transmit a location of thevehicle to the roadside base station, and controlling the vehicle tomove and stop at the loading/unloading position in a predeterminedgesture in accordance with moving guidance information transmitted fromthe roadside base station, wherein the moving guidance information is adriving control instruction generated by the roadside base station basedon the location of the vehicle and the location of the roadside basestation.
 17. The method of claim 10, further comprising, after theautonomous loading/unloading has completed: controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, the vehicle to autonomously move from the loading/unloadingposition to a weighing position, and interacting with a ground scalesensor corresponding to the weighing position for autonomous weighing;and controlling, by the vehicle controller, the vehicle to autonomouslymove from the weighing position to a fuel refilling position, andinteracting with a fuel refilling terminal corresponding to the fuelrefilling position for autonomous fuel refilling.
 18. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: obtaining, by the vehicle controller,self-checking data of the vehicle; and controlling, by the vehiclecontroller, the vehicle to autonomously move and stop at an examinationand repair position in response to determining that the vehiclemalfunctions based on the self-checking data of the vehicle, andinteracting with an examination and repair apparatus corresponding tothe examination and repair position for autonomous examination andrepair.
 19. The method of claim 10, further comprising: generating, bythe operation system, a transportation task list based on thetransportation plan for the vehicle, and transmitting the transportationtask list in association with vehicle identification information of thevehicle to a highway port control system corresponding to the targethighway port in the transportation plan; receiving, by the highway portcontrol system, task execution information for the vehicle from terminaldevices within the target highway port, generating the transportationplan execution progress for the vehicle based on the task executioninformation; and transmitting the transportation plan execution progressto the operation system; and adjusting, by the operation system, thetransportation plan for the vehicle based on the transportation planexecution progress for the vehicle, and transmitting the adjustedtransportation plan to the vehicle controller of the vehicle.
 20. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising: receiving, by the operationsystem, task execution information for the vehicle from terminal devicesin the target highway port, adjusting the transportation plan for thevehicle based on the task execution information, and transmitting theadjusted transportation plan to the vehicle controller of the vehicle.